Blood's Shadow
by fishylishy
Summary: Please don’t let that be Link’s blood... I was knee deep in the warm liquid, swimming with the rotting corpses. I saw his face and screamed in horror. Dark jerked the sword out of Link's face sickeningly. Blood sprayed me. "The future, Midna." -Complete-
1. Chapter 1

**-TP- This fanfiction starts on Lake Hylia. While Fyer rebuilds the canon, Link goes to check on the Lakebed Temple due to a huge noise coming from it. Who he finds both helps him and tears his life apart.**

"I don't blame you—any idiot for miles _heard_ that place. It's like its heart is beating or something…" Midna trailed off as Link dove into the water. Her body melted into the sliver of shadow and she groaned. Water made her feel sickly, like she was inhaling something sweet. "Did they block it off again? If not, they're idiots—hey, they _did_ block it off!" Midna's voice still came out as a high, bubbly soprano under water.

Link nodded, body shooting out towards the rock that guarded the temple. Midna looked around uneasily—where were the Zoras? They never left, and Midna knew it. The temple was _sacred_ to them. They never left, unless….

Midna gulped. What was so terrifying that the Zoras had left? Link picked his way through the outcroppings of gray rock and pale green seaweed. "This isn't good….I've got a _really_ bad feeling about this…" Another 'beat' of the temple choked out the rest of her sentence, the world shaking and spinning. Midna's eyes scanned the water…"Look _out!_"

Link ducked just as the jagged, black boomerang whizzed past his head. It was coated in scales, as far as he could see…_designed_ to work underwater. He drew his blade and bit his lip, the blue Zora suit slowing him as he whirled down into the water.

And then, he saw what he was positive was a reflection. What _twisted_ joke was this? A man who was he, but not….a man who could have been Link's twin, if not for the black shade over his body. Like a shadow, everything about him was _darker._ And his eyes were glowing, vibrant crimson.

"It _took_ you two long enough!" The man laughed in a voice, alike to Link's, but deeper and edgy, like you'd bleed if you could touch it. "I thought that even if I did escape that blasted Lakebed Temple, you two would _never_ come. And here, I was wrong."

Midna snarled, outraged. "Who _are _you? Give us a good reason _not_ to cut your miserable throat."

"Ah, Midna. I've heard many things about the pr—" When he saw Midna's blue lips stretched out further into a snarl and amber eyes go wide, he understood. "Ah…you haven't told Link who you are."

Link wasted no more time. He lunged for the man's throat, the Master Sword glowing and striving to kill the man and let the water cleanse his blood. But the stranger was too quick, and by the time Link was in the position that the stranger had been in just a second ago, he was gone.

Midna curled from Link's shadow, blue skin materializing over her silhouette. She swam a few yards away, looking and listening. "Where'd he—"

"Go?"

Midna let out a shriek when a cold hand clamped onto her shoulder. She felt a body hurl backwards, out of the way. "Geez! I'm not gonna _hurt_ you!" The stranger spoke from behind her, and Midna's hair stretched into a translucent orange arm. It darted out from her, grabbing the man by his neck and dragging him to her.

"_Who. Are. You?!"_ She growled, each word so alive in flame and intensity that they were their own sentence. Midna saw Link start to silently approach, and she stopped him with a glare. She wanted to know who this man was, and what he wanted.

"I'm sort of Link—now, now, Midna, calm down. To make someone so pure, like Link here is, they need to separate him into two halves that are each their own person. Link is the pure one of us. I, however, am the opposite of Link. I am full of the excess hatred that he once, so long ago, carried with him. My name is Dark Link, though I prefer Dark." He seemed so proud that Midna hadn't snapped his neck yet—cocky, even.

"You're…Link? But…not Link?" Midna shook her head, confused, frustrated, and mad. "Link? Is this true?" She called.

"I was once told…in a dream, that I didn't carry the normal burden of hatred and anger that a human had…that my hatred and anger was stored in someone else." Link shrugged, not understanding it himself. "I don't know. But his story makes enough sense…release him."

"Thank you!" Dark chastened, gulping in air. _How is he able to breathe underwater?_ Link thought, cocking his head. "Oh, right…that look…I can breathe underwater because I was buried in the Zora Temple."

"Really? Go re-bury yourself," Midna responded, turning her back. Link paddled upwards, towards the surface, Midna following.

"Wait!" Dark cried.

"What is it _now_?" Link groaned.

"I came out for a reason. I'm coming with you, of course. I'd like to go to the Twilight Realm, one of these days…" Dark shook his head. "Midna. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? How bad it is to be a shadow in the Light Realm?"

_How does he know…about…me?_ Midna silently asked herself. She didn't like this "Dark" person, and she wanted to either kill him or shove him back into the temple. "I get your point, but you're _not_ coming with us."

Dark raised one eyebrow. "Oh? I'll tell him, Midna."

Link shot her a baffled look and Midna gulped. "What's your goal? It's not like you can help us much."

"But I _can_!" He protested. "I have a weapon. I can help you. And my magic isn't too bad, either. Would you like to see?"

Link rolled his eyes, low voice coming out bubbly in the water. "Sure. Knock yourself out."

Dark Link grinned, reaching into his tunic and pulling out a small slip of…paper? A scroll? Talisman? Midna and Link couldn't see, but he threw it at a stone pillar. It glowed, brighter and brighter until you could no longer see the black writing on it. Finally, it crackled…

The pillar exploded into a cloud of dust. Midna sucked at her teeth while Link gasped. Dark…Dark was very, very powerful. Magic wise, at least. He could be useful…but he could prove to be a burden. They knew so little about him.

But what choice did they have? Midna, for sure, wasn't letting him spill the beans and unless what she had just seen was a hoax, she wasn't defeating _him_ anytime soon. And Link was curious about his other half. It was so intriguing that it was a _danger._ Every sign around it marked danger. But it was glossy, and the attraction was that of a child to a toy. It wasn't a want anymore. It was a need.

"I'm getting older," Dark mocked.

"You can come…" Midna trailed off, her teeth clenched. Her lip curled in a snarl. She didn't like the way he stared at her. It was the way people stared at her when she had been in her _true_ form…and the way Link stared at her. Link, not this foolish freak. That look of awe and understanding and love was supposed to be on _Link's_ face. Midna's anger boiled in her blood.

Link nodded. "But only till we get to the Twilight Realm. You're staying there, understood? Unless I change my mind. And that will only happen if you prove useful. Which," He stopped with a quick grimace and shake of the head, "won't."

"I knew you'd come around, bro!" Dark responded, slipping into casual slang without taking his eyes off of Midna. They burned like neon red embers as he took a water-slow stride towards Midna and put his hand on her right shoulder. "It'll be so _interesting_ to hang out with someone in the Twilight realm besides my origin…."

Midna shrugged his hand off, fury seeping into her voice. "It'll be so _interesting_ to blow your arm off." Oh, she _wanted_ to blow his arm off. Blow it off into a million little chunks and then laugh her way to the Twilight Mirror without the freak.

Dark winked at her and put a finger to his lips. Midna gagged and groaned. _Greaaat. _She had not only been blackmailed, but this freak was a pervert. She mentally shrugged. How far would he _go_ with that blackmail…?

**That's chapter one. Reviews are loved!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two!**

_**Midna's POV, a week later:**_

The stars above me covered the dark, inky blue sky like a blanket, shrouding the land in faint beams of light. The camp fire crackled a few feet away from me and an owl cried out in the field somewhere. I groaned quietly, wanting sleep to take me under.

But that wasn't going to happen as Dark Link's hand was on my ankle. _Supposedly_ he had just moved his hand there in his sleep, but it was really to restrain me from blowing his head off. And if I moved, he would shock me. In his sleep, of course.

I hated his miserable guts. He hung onto that blackmail like a life vest. He knew he wouldn't be able to use it for much longer—the secret would be exposed when we got to the Twilight Realm. And _that_ wasn't happening any time soon. A chain of "bad karma" had occurred since Dark had started to travel with us.

Fyer accidently broke a part of the Sky Cannon, so he had to order a new one—and the Postal Service was sluggish here.

Link broke his left wrist while in battle, and since I refused to be left alone with Dark while he went into Castle Town, I had done miracles with weaving prairie grass into a sling, but we didn't have_ any_ pain killers.

The fire had "been blown by passing wind" (I assure you, there was _no wind_. It was Dark who did it, I'm not lying here. Who are you gonna believe?!) had caught onto me, giving me a little reddish patch on my shin.

Dark had already "shocked" me in his sleep twice that night, and it was getting annoying as hell.

Link wasn't a fan, either. But…Dark had showed extreme _power_ in battle. Though we hadn't,

So far, been attacked by any major enemies, anything that got in our way had been obliterated into either a million pieces or a batch of flames. (Trust me, it's not even funny that the fire was huge. I hope that all of Hyrule one day realizes that the Princess of the Twilight Realm saved them all from a firey death that started in Faron Woods.)

Dark shocked me again. I groaned and stared at Link's face, observing. He had grown a little since we first had started our journey—his jaw had hardened, his low high cheekbones that semi-resembled mine had set—and he seemed more of a lean, tall, built man than a simple farm boy. He slept in his evergreen-colored Hero's Tunic, which I had always thought would feel uncomfortable.

His limp face started to frown and tense—was he having a nightmare? I reached out to him and my lips formed words. I nearly touched his shoulder to shake him awake—and oh, I would have….but of course I felt a jolt in my body.

A not-so-asleep Link kicked a not-so-asleep-Dark. "Link?" I asked, trying to sound innocent. My voice still shook from the vibration of the shock. "Were you having a nightmare?"

"No."

"You were grimacing…are you ill?"

"No…my arm hurts like hell. It's the wrist, I think. It'll be fine in the morning. The actual _cut_ that came with it is what's hurting." And I knew that he was downplaying it. That moblin had caught him from behind, cutting his arm with its dagger and then snapping his wrist. He paid with his petty, evil life.

I treaded around the fire, reaching down to his arm and yanking the grass cast off. He cried out in surprise and pain. The flames lit up his arm and I gasped. The long cut that went from his shoulder to his wrist was a strange scarlet, oozing with yellowish green puss. I gagged, horrified. "_Link!_ You IDIOT! It's infected!"

In my realm, we don't get sick much. Our medicines are much more advanced—mainly our healing magic—than the barbaric and puny operations and potions in the Light Realm. An infection like that would have been stopped before it could start oozing. And I didn't have to remember Link's countless lectures to know that people died from infections.

"We're warping—now! We're going to the Castle Town! I can't heal you—my powers are too downplayed in this dreaded form. We'll get you to the doctor!" My attitude was sassy and tough, but inside I was in a panic. Link _couldn't_ die! He was the only…_friend…_(though I wanted to say 'sweetheart') I had. If he died…

"Midna, for Din's sakes, it's the middle of the night. No doctor in Castle Town will be willing to see me!" He protested.

"We'll go to Ordon, then. Rusl will treat you there."

"Rusl is barbaric in his healing sessions. Colin had an infection in his arm and Rusl cut the damn arm open. It took months for him to use it after that!" Link argued. I shook my head.

"Then we'll go to Kakariko. Renado has done wonders for everyone!"

"NO! Midna, calm down, I'll be fine."

"I'll get Ilia. I'm not joking, Link."

"That's assuming they won't shoot you when you enter the village. You can't show them what you look like!"

"Are you saying I can't use my Shadow Magic to transform into a human looking person—even if it's only for a few moments?"

"Oh, Midna—fine, fine! I'll go. I'll go right now, in the middle of the night, and wake everybody up!" Link cried, standing, kicking Dark in the face in the process.

"When they see your arm, they'll forget the time," I grumbled, kicking Dark as well. "Get up, Dark. We're making an emergency trip to Kakariko."

Oh, damn. I'd have to wait outside the village…with Dark. I shook off my selfish, petty worries. Link's life was possibly in danger. I blinked, and next thing I knew, Dark was standing up.

"_I_ can warp three people—without having anybody transform into an animal," He bragged, snapping his fingers. A strange glow captured me in its grasp. The world spun into a black vortex. I heard Link shoot and I reached out for his hand.

Next thing I knew, I was drowning in the blackness.

/

"It's dawn. I'm going in!" I cried. Dark rolled his eyes, blocking my path _again._

"He's fine." Dark rolled his eyes, smirking. "We haven't even talked, Midna. And here I was, so excited to talk to the Twilight—"

"Don't. Don't you _dare._ You're already blackmailing me and I haven't killed you or kicked you out from the journey. You're not exposing my identity!"

"Ah, our little secret. I don't think the terms are _nearly_ accurate enough…I was thinking we'd raise them." His eyebrows shot up, waiting for my response. Fury gathered in me and I prepared to turn my orange hair into a very accurate dagger. Some Shadow Magic and water to hide the blood, dump the body in Lake Hylia and let it be fish food….hmm, not bad..

"Our. Terms. Are. Fine." I made each word its own domain of a sentence, all of them said through barred teeth in a growl. My hair twitched, waiting for the signal. I'm sure my face was twisted and distorted in something twisted—good. I hope I scared him silly.

"Oh? I'll tell him, then." He shrugged, looking at his hands with a smirk.

"Name your terms," I groaned after a strained moment. Anger washed through me and I wanted to start throwing punches. "Hurry, before I change my mind and try to blow your head off."

"I think that you…" He smiled, grabbing a stick from the nearby grass and writing in the dirt. My teeth clenched and my hair nearly went around his neck. No, no, _no_!

**Sorry to leave a minor cliffie. I'm ping-ponging my updates today-I'll update Blood's Shadow, then the Fallen Shadow, then Blood's Shadow, and so on so forth. I have a poll for everyone:**

**What do you think Dark wants from Midna?**

**Is Link okay?**

**Pick one—Link or Dark Link!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't updated so far this week. I have a good reason, though!  
-If you want to view those reasons, go to my website's blog! There's a link on my profile!-**

**Anyway, here it is.**

/

"You want me to manipulate…Link's Triforce?" I whispered, incredulous. I had seen and heard many, many bad things as a Ruler of Twilight—I had kept people at bay, I had traveled _this_ realm and seen many monsters. My realm believed in the Goddesses—or the few of us who believed that the Stones of Fate that were in our realm were true…_why_ would I want to disturb the power they had bestowed upon the man I loved?

Dark grinned. "You make it sound so…mean. I just need you to learn its connection with the Fused Shadows…and then put Shadow magic into it, to test its reaction."

My face fell. The thought of me...hurting Link like that…I shuddered, trying not to gag. Anguish filled me. _It's not worth it! NOT WORTH IT!_ A sane part of me screamed. I shook my head. "It's…not…worth it! It's not! Go ahead, tell him all you want. Tell him _everything!_"

And I knew I had something on him. I had just delivered what no fist could have—_fear._ He knew I had something on him. Dark struggled, trying to figure out what he could do, how he could make this work in his favor. Finally, his face lit up. "Well, then, Midna. I'll tell him…but would you like to know something very, very funny? Of course you do. _I_ can test how the Triforce reacts to Shadow Magic. But I would have to force him into it…I would have to hurt him."

_Dammit!_ He had leverage, again. Unfair, anguished leverage. "You wouldn't dare," I whispered.

"Care to test that theory? And if things went wrong…well…the infection might react badly…" Dark grinned and evil and twisted smirk, seeing how far he'd have to go for me to accept his terms.

"I could kill you," I stated in a matter of fact tone. "That would solve _all_ these problems."

"You won't be able to get out of this alive without my help."

I snorted. "Says who?!"

"Fate. One of you will fall unless I help…and, if you tried to kill me…keep in mind, I could kill _you._" Anger swelled in me and my power raged. My hair grabbed his neck, threatening to strangle him. I slammed him into the rocks behind his back.

I grinned, smug. "Really? Then what's stopping me from snapping your neck right now, hmm? Gonna use your magic on me?" I tightened my grip. He should have choked for air, but instead he smirked. A wave of pressure smacked into me, making me lose my grip. I recoiled my hair, crumbling to the ground with a moan of pain.

Dark waved his hand like a conductor waving a wand, and up I went. My arms went limp and I struggled, but the force of his magic held me in the air. The scene warped around me in a sickening flashback, and suddenly, I was being hung in the same position by Zant at the Lakebed Temple, the Spirit's sad eyes boring into me as golden light flooded into me, pain racing along with it. I opened my mouth to scream as the same pain filled me. Dark's magic slammed me into the rock face and he covered my mouth. I uselessly bit his hand.

"You see, Midna, killing you wouldn't hurt me one little bit," He smiled, voice ominous. "I could do it quickly or I could do it slowly, it'd be your choice. My magic is _designed_ to cause pain. You want to know what it feels like?" I shook my head, eyes wide and body limp with panic. "Oh, maybe you should answer 'yes'."

The strangest color blurred my vision and I felt something wash over my body. I thought I was somehow shielding it…and then, it came. A wave of icy pain filled me. I could feel my limbs extend, trying to escape the stabs, but they only moved a few inches before the pain caught up. I screamed into the wave of power and it sucked the noise of it away. "STOP!" I shrieked.

It faded away and I dropped to the ground, panting, agonized. "There's nothing in it for you. You can kill me before I sacrifice Link to you as a lab rat!" I spat. Dark laughed.

"Ah, but there _is_, Midna. You're such good company."

"Dream on!" I hissed. "In your sick and twisted dreams will I ever love you!" The very thought of it made me want to puke. Dark frowned, raising a finger and mumbling a spell. A rock nearby lifted and slammed into my cheek. I let out a yell, crumbling. My cheek throbbed and my hands felt up my chin to the wound. I jerked them away, glancing at the blood that they now wore.

I hissed out a curse and a dark vision came to mind. It would be _Link's_ blood if I didn't comply. Agony washed through me, strong and fresh. I twisted my body, cupping my face in my hands. I would find a way to kill Dark, but for now, I'd have to play along.

"I have…one condition," I murmured brokenly. "One condition, and dirtbag, you have to agree to it."

"I'm listening."

"After I test out how the Triforce reacts to Shadow Magic, you go back to the Twilight Realm. You go back to the Ranfia Clan." The Ranfia Clan was the only clan that Dark could have belonged to. They were wild, horrid creatures that practiced dark magic. "And you _never_ bug me again."

"What if _you_ want me to bug you?" He smirked.

I snorted. "Yea, right. Do we have a deal?"

"I believe so."

**So Dark decided to blackmail Midna **_**majorly**_**! Mwhhaha, I'll update again soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Updating! Yayz. **

_**Midna's POV:**_

It was night again when Link came out of the village, arm without a bandage. I strode from the shadows, away from Dark, and floated up till I was eye level with him. He smiled, and I felt an imaginary cloak slip over me. It protected me from Dark and Zant and Ganon…it was wonderful.

"He fixed it up nicely. Ilia nearly had a heart attack," Link grinned, blue eyes stretching as he smiled. I fit my small, porcelain blue hand onto the curve of his cheek. "_I_ thought it was just fine after is stitched it up, but they made me rest all day."

I smiled weakly, knowing Dark was watching. "Are you in any pain? I'll have some talking to do if you are."

"No, I'm not in any pain. I feel great. That's what Golden Chu Jelly will do for you!" He laughed, hugging me. I clung to him for support and he hopped up onto the rocks, entering the small cave that we had created a campfire in.

"Jeez, it's cramped in here," He muttered, crawling in. Dark was in the very back, away from the mouth of the cave. Since it was such a small space, I ended up squished against Link. A warm, happy emotion fluttered through me.

I had made a good promise—I would do what Dark wanted, then I could be with Link. Link glanced down at me as the flames cast dancing beams of light. One landed across my face, but I still didn't understand when Link gasped.

"Midna, what happened to your cheek?!" He sounded shocked and…worried. I swallowed against the urge to tell him that Dark had smashed me into the rocks. But I think my hesitance in answering told him that it was Dark's fault.

"I…uh…fell down?" I made it sound like a question, the way I spoke. His eyes narrowed and he didn't comment.

"Go to sleep, according to Ilia and Barnes, the Sky Cannon will be in full repair by tomorrow. Or that's what Fyer wrote them." His voice faded as I slipped into a rest. It was not a sleep, but a cocoon of warmth and protection. I could still hear everything, still feel it all.

I felt it when Link was sure I was asleep and I felt it when his leg slammed out from behind him, kicking Dark in the face.

"_Dammit!_ What'd ya do that for?!" Dark demanded, and I heard him groan. I smiled internally, smug, hoping that Link broke his nose.

"You ever hurt her again, and I'll kill you," Link's husky voice was a growl.

"Getting defense of your poor little imp?" Dark mocked.

"If you ever hurt her again, I'll kill you," He repeated. I felt that imaginary cloak wrap around me again, and in that small cave, yards from Dark, I felt safe in the crook of Link's arm. I was home.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Strong, orange and golden rays of light stabbed at my eyelids. I felt my sore body—stiff from the cave floor—stretch out. I yawned, arms searching for Link. "L-…Link?" I muttered. My eyelids fluttered open and I squinted through the beams of light.

Link sat on the rocks outside, a grim look on his face. He had taken his tunic's evergreen hat off—it sat, lopsided, on the rocks beside him—shaggy blonde hair glowing in the morning light. His sharp features were pulled into a thoughtful but angry frown.

He was handsome, I admitted, though I knew it wasn't his best quality. It was _him_ himself…his fighting, his rebellion, his courage, his sweet personality, his husky voice…everything. "Morning…" I muttered, crawling to his side. He shook his head, glancing around.

"Notice anything?"

I turned my head, quickly searching. Then it hit me. "Dark's gone!"

"He took off at dawn, rambling that he was going to get the shard of the Mirror himself…" Link shook his head. "I'll give him till nightfall, then we'll move on, maybe relax in Castle Town. If he's not back in three days, then I'll go up and dance on his dead body."

"Why didn't he…?"

"Want me to come?" Link grinned at me, white teeth catching the sun's sparkle and gleaming. "It probably has something to do with the death threat I have looming over his head…"

I, still sleep drugged, didn't remember any death threats. "Death threat?"

Link shrugged. "I told him that if he ever hurt you again, I'd kill him," He stated matter-of-factly.

"I got this….from the rocks!" I cried, running my hand along my cheek.

He rolled his eyes. "Right, I have no doubt about that…" Link trailed off, expression igniting with a fresh anger. "Midna, if that creep is bugging you, tell me, and I'll kill him."

I tried not to lie, so maybe I'd sound convincing. I snorted, trying to act myself with the usual sass. "If he wasn't helping us out, I'd have killed him already. He's a major asset, and it puts the risk of dying down a lot."

That happy, wonderful emotion clawed at my limbs again as Link smiled at me, ruffling my hair. "You are one crazy girl, acting all tactical and everything. What, are you a part of the Twili Military or something?"

I shrugged. "Something like that," I muttered flatly. Then I shook my head. "Got any food or are we gonna starve out here?"

"I'm out. Got anything in your Shadow Storage?"

"Nope. Stay here, okay? I don't want you hunting anything with your arm still healing—" I heard his protest as I flew off, dissolving into a warp of teal and black rain.

Hyrule Field in the Lanaryu area was, like the rest of the field, sprawling out with moss, grass, hills, oak and elm trees, and crystal blue streams that shone in the sunlight. There were rocks that hid caves and mysterious things, and there were still monsters.

I killed a few of the bird monsters with a long range spell. It looked like an arrow, but it was a stream of Twili Magic. Humane, quick, and effective. It saddened me that the Light Realm still contained monsters, even after all the work we had done to kill them…the pain we had gone through, the time had taken to kill them…

The Twilight Realm had no monsters—_we_ had been the monsters, at first. I wondered about that…why had the Goddesses left the Mirror? Wouldn't it have been easy for anyone determined enough to just go back _through_ the mirror?

Then it hit me. They_ couldn't_ have done it. Only the true ruler of the Twili could shatter the link between the realms. My bloodline was, at best, a replacement bloodline. So the roles had been set in place by fate…even the Goddesses couldn't disobey fate. The actual "ruler" of the Twili had died in an attack from a clan, though, so _nobody_ could.

Now that I thought about it, it had been Dark's clan—the Ranfia clan—that had killed her in a strange rampage. It was a tragedy…but it was said that the Stones of Fate had written that "soul will fall, heart will rise, and destiny shall unravel. On it shall be bloodshed, and on it will be love, and finally, peace.".

Was I heart? Was the old ruler—the one that had been killed—soul?

The best _I_ could do if I wanted to destroy the mirror would be to make it very, very hard to piece it back together. I couldn't get rid of it, though. I clenched my teeth as the bird's dead body fell to the ground. I didn't know the actual name of the oversized bird-monster, but I knew how pesky they were.

I put the meat in my Shadow storage and, shaking off my anguished and confused thoughts, I went back to camp.

()()()()(((()()()()()()()()()()

**And so Dark's up at the Sky Palace. I'll update soon, tell me what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Blood's Shadow 5, here it is…**

**  
JUST A WARNING/REMINDER: Be careful out in public right now, guys. At least 80 people in Cali have died from this Swine Flu. I don't need any of my readers dying. ******

**Listen to, as you read this: "Home" by Three Days Grace.**

He strut into camp with that Mirror Shard just past sunset.

And, through gritted, bared, and snarling teeth, I begrudgingly thanked him. He was covered in blood, which quite disgusted me because he insisted upon hugging Link and I.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed," Link smirked, half-heartedly, patting Dark on the back. "Here I was, thinking you were worthless…" He rolled his eyes, glancing at me. He saw my horror-struck, frightened expression and frowned.

"And, even better—I got us some dinner on the way here," And out of his Shadow Storage he pulled meat from some sort of animal. "I just need to roast it on a fire and we'll have a hearty meal!"

There was an uneasy feeling in my stomach. My skin was clammy. I gritted my teeth, trying to sound casual. "Do that, then. I'm going to warp to the Lake Hylia Spring and clean off. I'll be back in thirty minutes or so." Believe it or not, I—even after travelling with a wolf—had a sense of hygiene. And it was the perfect excuse to get away from Dark.

Link looked suspicious, and his eyes—dusky, light blue—reminded me of his "death threat" on Dark. "Alright…but we won't wait for you!" His tone still sounded tense through the humorous cadence. I nodded, snapping my fingers at the ground. It melted into a shallow, squared off, teal and black portal. I leapt into it, dissolving.

()()()()()()()()()

My skin was moist, drops of water dripping off of it as I floated on my back in the Spring's water. Above, the green walls and limbs of the cavern stretched like arms, tensed and probably very stiff. And, above that, the hole in the cavern ceiling let me see the inky blue sky, dotted with stars.

I sighed. It had probably been at least two hours. The food at camp was most likely long gone, eaten and enjoyed. It made me unhappy to know that I was going out of my way to avoid Dark…"Oh, geez, what a bastard…" I muttered as I leapt onto one of the branch-like things.

"You aren't talking about _me_, are you?"

"Gah!" I cried, losing my balance on the branch and toppling back into the hot water. As I swam back towards the top, my mind raced with fury. Damn him! _Sick, disgusting, mutated, reject of the Goddesses PERV!_

I resurfaced, boiling with anger. Dark sat, arms crossed, legs swinging, on the branch I had been on seconds ago. "What the _hell?!_" I screeched.

"Did I scare ya?!" He winked at me and I sent one quick wave of Shadow Magic at the branch, letting it snap. He fell into the water with a loud splash, allowing me the chance to hop back up onto the high bank. I shook off, the water drops flying everywhere. I took my helmet out of my Shadow Storage and slipped it back on.

Dark leapt from the water, flipping onto the bank with skill and precision. He shook off, grinning as the drops from his skin made me get soaking wet. "Aww, you look sour. You can't avoid me."

Disgusted and pissed off, I answered him bluntly. "Go to hell."

He rolled his eyes. "_I_ came to know how the progress on your end of the deal in going..." Dark muttered casually. His crimson eyes glowed as they glared at me.

"It's going perfectly well, dirtbag. You don't have to stalk me to see that. You freak…going off and getting a mirror shard like you're the only one who—"

My air cut off abruptly. I felt the invisible hands of Shadow magic at my throat, choking and strangling me. I couldn't find the air to scream, my lungs burning for any sort of air they could find. There was none, and icy pain froze my limbs. My vision blurred and a curtain fell over my eyes.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

_**Flashback:**_

_"Thirteen citizens dead! There's got to be a cure for this thing, Edgar," I snapped, arms crossed. I leaned carelessly on the iron railing, letting it support my lean, healthy body. I stared off into the golden sky, streaked with the colors of Twilight. Dotted in that eternal Twilight were floating islands of purple rock, and on those were tall, black buildings with purple and teal inscriptions. _

_The Twili—the main tribe of the Shadow Realm—were my people. We controlled the Central Northern Lands—the most fruitful lands that contained valuable minerals and gems that were the base for Shadow Spell Stones…Suldi, Parsik, and Nivo to name a few._

_To the South were the Plains—an unclaimed, floating peninsula of land that was used for recreation. To the West were the Shadis, an intelligent race of Artisans that bred geniuses. They were a small city, but they had many wonderful sites. And..to the East were the Wild Tribes. There were at least 10 small tribes there…to many to keep track of...and all of them were hostile and practiced inhumane magic. _

_And a plague of sorts had somehow been raging. It had killed nine Twilis and four Shadis painfully and according to our best doctors, it was a chemically powered intoxication. The magic traced to the Wild Tribes. It was foreign. I'd have to meet with the Shadis' Prince to get the go-ahead to start questioning the Wild Ones._

_It would be easier if the magic was solid…in stone form. The engravings would show an area..if it was from the Shadis, it'd be gray and blue engravings. If it was Twili, it'd be teal and purple. If it was a Wild Tribe, it'd be red and black. I shivered, disturbed and confused._

_"Ma'am…" Edgar stuttered. His low voice quivered. "Someone…a leader of one of the Wild Tribes—he has arrived and needs to speak with you about a political crisis!"_

_"This is hardly the time. People are dying—"_

_"We have declared hostility towards the Twili," A gruff voice announced. I gasped, shocked, finding myself face to face with a man in full, black body armor. He was eye level with me—six foot. "I think this is the time to ask you for surrender."_

_"Yea, right, pal. We'd crush you. You guys and your petty takeover ideas…" I rolled my eyes. "It took me quite a while to settle __**my**__ territory. If you'd like, I can put in a request so that you can trade for some land in the Plains—What are you DOING?!" The man's hands had gone around my neck. My lungs burned, begging for air. A strange spell burned my skin. Pain raged at me, threatening to toss me under the bank of unconsciousness._

_I thrashed in his grip. A thousand things raced through my mind and I released an electricity spell through my body. It shocked him and his grip loosened for just a second—long enough for me to scream for help. "HELP! SOMEBODY—" My air was cut off again._

_I twisted, biting his armored hand. My gums bled, my teeth ached, my vision blurring. There were blank spots in my vision…_

_A wave of magic hit the man—I felt it. He threw me across the balcony, my head bashing against the railing. Air filled my lungs and I gasped, inhaling it. I felt the wounds, then, the burning magic that had took off several layers of my neck's skin. I groaned as I felt gentle hands on my head. I felt the soft, glowing wave of magic enter my body, the pain fading. "Princess, you must get inside. A team has been sent to set a barrier around the Wild Tribe land. I will assign Agent Dyi to negotiate this sickness…"_

_()()()()()()()()_

When I opened my eyes again, I felt stiff. Pain numbly throbbed, my chest heaving. My breaths felt…too short. Like I was being out cheated out of oxygen intake. My body felt…off…for lack of a better word, and I dragged my limbs to create a portal. I warped back to the campsite, groaning.

I was anxious and groggy, and I didn't make a lot of sense. As I warped down from the sky, the longing for rest overpowering everything else, I tried to pretend I didn't see Link. I couldn't pretend, though, when he saw my neck and any other bruise on my body, and he hissed. "Dammit," He muttered.

He entered the small cave, past the ashes of the fire, and I heard his fist make contact with Dark's face. "Damn you. If you weren't useful, I'd gut you alive. If you like your face where it is, I'd suggest you not touch her again."

My body sagged against the rocks. I was too tired to care about the anger I felt, and the anguish as I knew that I still had a deal to keep. I'd…start…doing my end of the deal in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

**Blood's Shadow, Chapter 6.**

Link wanted to say goodbye to everyone…he said it was just a thank you, so that they would feel that they had helped rescue the realms. But I read it in his eyes, the fact that he knew he might not get to say goodbye later.

So I didn't want to stop him from doing that. He started out with the minor things…the merchants in Town, for instance. Link gave them all purple rupees, and red rupees when he ran out of purple ones.

Dark had gotten sick of waiting outside while I hid in Link's shadow—so he had gotten a thick black cloak, like Zelda's, that disguised him in town. He just looked like a foreigner, nothing more. Nobody stared. I wish I could walk around, stretch my legs…anything but being stuck in the shadows.

I had just warped Link and I to Kakariko—Dark was finishing shopping in Castle Town. Link told me that he wanted me to see something, and I obliged, melting into his shadow as he scaled the Hotel, then grabbed a Cucco. Along the cliff face on the Western side of the village there were platforms, were we landed and then hopped onto the flat dome roof of Rendado's house.

The view was slightly breathtaking, I had to admit. The western, teak wood town was spread out, the breeze blowing the dust into my face. The Light Realm was just as beautiful as my realm, perhaps even more.

I pulled two apples from my Shadow Storage, handing one to Link as I reclined onto the rough, sand paper texture of the roof. It was warmed from the sun. I sighed, content. _Get close to him._ Dark's words haunted my every step, my every movement…I wanted to gag. Bastard.

But I did have a deal to do. And unless I wanted Dark sticking around, I had better do it soon. So I figured, with a pang of anguish and anger, that it was time to play question and answer.

"So, Link…what will you do when this is all said and done?"

He shrugged, taking a bite of the apple—red, gleaming in the sunlight—and tossed a smirk my way. "I don't know. I think I'd like to hang out with a beautiful girl from the Twilight Realm." I rolled my eyes, trying not to blush like a girly girl. He didn't even know what my true form looked like and he was calling me beautiful. "What about you?"

"Duh, Link, do you think that after this whole mess I'm gonna ditch you?!" I had no intention to do such thing. I would resign from my duties, break the mirror into four shards, give them to the new ruler so that they could contact me if they needed to. Then I'd hang out here, with Link.

I could see that life. In the warm, breezy future, I could see myself—in my true form—lying next to Link on this rooftop, laughing and picnicking with Hyrule stretched out in all directions. I could see myself in his idiotic village, horseback riding with him. I could see myself canoeing and fishing near the upper Zora's River. I could see myself in Castle Town, playing all those silly games and donating rupees for no reason. _Yea, I think that'd be a pretty nice life._ My thoughts were in bliss and I knew that, by doing this deal, I'd find my happiness.

Link chuckled. "I'm _glad_ you're not ditching me. How would I get around—_walk?_"

I playfully smacked him upside the head with mock offense. "Well, then, I'll just go back to my realm!" I turned, still teasing, and pouted.

"Aww, Midna! That's not all you're good for. You're a great person." He tugged me back down to the rooftop, laughing. I giggled, as girlish as it seemed. He put his hand in mine and a dark thought crossed through my mind.

_You could inject the magic now. Pretend you see something. Pretend there's a bublin with a fire arrow._ But…what if it really, really hurt him? What if I killed him? I don't think I could live with myself if I killed Link. My stomach twisted with my anxiety.

"…and Ilia actually thinks that I am in love with a Zora, that's why I'm always going in that direction. Stupid idea, I don't know how she got it through her head."

I chuckled without any humor. "Yea, she's kinda a nut sometimes…" Quite frankly, I didn't know _what_ she acted like because she bored me to death. Even watching from Link's shadow was boring. She had a monotone, high pitched voice. She reminded me of Agitha.

A question popped into my mind suddenly. I knew it would be pushy to ask it, but I wanted to know. "What happened to your parents?"

Link's face fell, but he regained his composure. "They left me." His voice was hushed, quiet, and I could hear the _why did they?_ in it. I could almost hear his heart, aching with the heart of beating with that question.

"…they _left?!_ Why'd they do that?" I didn't realize that the harsh, angry words were flowing from my mouth until they rang through my ears. Link's face was swept clean of his hurt, but amusement and shock at my outburst.

He seemed to think about that for a minute. "Uli—the pregnant woman from the village, I think you saw her when I broke in to get the sword—hadn't met Rusl yet. She was a close friend of Tetra—my mother—and when she learned that Tetra was pregnant, she called in a travelling fortune teller. It was supposed to be funny, just a little thing to do. They thought that the fortune teller didn't really know the future…" Link trailed off, frowning. "But the fortune teller warned my mother of…destiny. That the legends proclaimed that great misfortune would befall her if she stuck around…that my power would fade…that Hyrule would fall. Her dreams haunted her for the weeks following, and she told Uli to take care of me. She left in search of answers—of someone who _could_ protect me. I suppose it was the right thing to do."

My face was set in a mask of horror and shock and pity. "I'm so sorry."

"What about your childhood, Midna? How'd it go for you?"

I snorted. I didn't have to make anything up. I hadn't been appointed as _anything_ that was worthwhile until two years ago. It had been my rescue call. "It sucked, let me tell you that much. My mother and father were wackos. They beat me. They didn't love nor care for me…but I knew a lot about the world when I was very, very young."

Link seemed to be sad about my story. "It's all ancient history, Midna. We won't ever have to be hurt like that again. I'll be damned if we do."

**Well, there's a chapter for y'all!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey, everyone! Here's an update.**

I was getting quite good at pretending to be casual with my questions. I figured that, in the end, knowing everything about Link would prove helpful—and not just towards my end of the blackmail. So, as we sat by the campfire that we had set up on Rendado's rooftop and Dark had gone to train his magic in the field, I asked Link a simple question. His history.

Not just _his_ history, though. The realm's fairytales. I wanted to hear his history. It was like reading a sequel to a wonderfully written novel—interesting. A hook.

"They're not very exciting. They all have happy endings and all have the same basic idea….but if you want to hear them, I'll tell." He paused as I readjusted myself, sitting up against the crumbling half-wall. "I'll tell you one. It's about time travel."

"Long ago, the children of a province of forest and forest alone—children who lived in trees and never aged—depended on fairies to guide them through their lives in the forest. But one boy, a mute, never got one. He had strange dreams of danger, and one day, the great Deku Tree sent a fairy to him. He was chosen to save the world from danger."

"Now, this boy did not understand many things about the world other than his forest home, but he fought and made his way to the Castle Town. There a princess from his dreams asked for his help. After many battles, he made his way to the Master Sword—as you know, the blade of evil's bane—but could not wield it. He was not of the proper bloodline—he was not Hylian. He was…oh, I wish I could remember the pesky forest tribe name!—a forest dweller. An evil demon-man appeared and a sage sealed the young hero's soul to save his life."

Link paused and I, intrigued, motioned from him to continue. "Seven years past and the hero awoke as an adult Hylian. His name…was Link."

"You _are_ a legend, aren't you, dog boy?" I whispered, shocked and proud. I curved my small hand to fit his cheek. He grinned. "Well, go on!"

"And, so, he went on, and after many hardships, he saved the Princess and her land, and using a special instrument he acquired on his journey, he travelled back in time so that the hardships didn't affect anything—so Hyrule would be safe. Because, in the seven years he slept, a veil of destruction swept the land."

I grinned. "Your stories have happier endings. Sugar-coaters."

"Well, let's hear one of _your_ fairytales, Miss Midna." He returned my grin, waiting.

"There was a woman by the name of Tidja Hirono. She was a powerful sorceress of Storm. But she was tainted. The Stones of Fate proclaimed that 'she who rules the storm shall rule the world', yet she did not rule. She, at first, had a good heart and truly wanted to help. But as time passed and rulership did not fall into her hands, she made a storm. A bolt of lightning struck the city that was the Twilight Realm's, at the time, only capital."

"We had three rulers. They were very greedy and always wanted more money, more love…more power…more bloodshed. They craved it. So when a bolt struck the palace, they began the Bolt Trials. Many, many women and men were tortured and beheaded for information of Tidja's whereabouts. They were innocents. Some had known Tidja. Some hadn't. It was meaningless bloodshed. If you were in the town, you could hear the screams…the heart stopping wails, the tortured screeches, and the merciless laughs. It was supposed justice."

"But Tidja watched as her friends were slaughtered, as the innocents died off…she felt sorrow and anguish for what she had done—she had meant to cause a scare, not a mass murder. She was plotting revenge, but soon it was too late for her to wait. Her younger sister, Alia, was taken captive and the torture process began."

"Tidja walked into the town, knowing that they'd quickly let Alia go—throw her out as if she was worthless—once the guards saw her. But she didn't mean to fight anymore. She knew it was too late to be the queen she had wanted to be. She knew that her soul was damned. So it was a suicide mission and a test…or a project. To test the rulers' creditability. So she slaughtered the palace guards, bathing herself in their blood, letting that hatred and anguish further taint her blood. Before the rulers came outside, she grabbed one of the dead guard's daggers and killed herself."

"The rulers were eager. They thought that the magic in her was powerful. But they argued over who would be the one to drink her so called magical blood. In the night, they cut the body into three parts, blood included. Each took to a part of the realm—which is why there are three "countries", not including the Plains—before drinking their share of the blood. Some people followed them. They were the first to die when the rulers' drank Tidja's tainted blood…the rulers went on a rampage. A violent rush, I guess. And then the blood poisoned them. They died. They say that that was the event that made our people peaceful. No more fights, after that—an occasional brawl over land, but no lives were lost."

Link sat with a knowing, brave expression. And that was the second I knew that I truly loved him. He wanted peace. He didn't want death. He truly cared.


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's Chapter 8! It's short and sweet. And there's a cliff-hanger.  
**

We had stalled long enough.

So the next morning, with Dark staring daggers at me—no doubt that our deal was on his mind—Link packed everything we might need when going to the Twilight Realm. He made a quick trip to the original Malo Mart with Dark while I finished cleaning up our rooftop campsite. They came back equipped with blue and red potions in mass quantities, which Dark and I put in Shadow Storage.

We did not want to warp and I felt content with walking to the bridge above Lake Hylia, where we would all jump for our daring joy, landing in the refreshing waters of the lake below. "It'll be fun—jumping off that bridge for fun instead of our lives," Link insisted when I protested. Dark also quietly agreed to Link's plan, but that was for our deal. Sheesh, was that _all_ that was on Dark's mind? I made a mental note to, when I assigned a new ruler for the Twili so I could be in the Light Realm, to tell the new ruler to kill him.

We strut out of Kakariko with me hidden in Link's shadow. Once we got past the Spring, I floated out of his shadow and glided next to him. "I can't believe you wanted to walk!" I groaned teasingly. I didn't mind taking the long way. I enjoyed Link's peaceful spirit next to me. It was that invisible cloak that shielded me from all harm.

"You're gliding, not walking," He teased back with a wolfy grin. That grin that was for _me_ and me alone. And I had my fanged smirk for _him_ and him alone.

"You'll wish you didn't say that," I responded in a mock threat. I plunged down to the ground, walking purposefully like a ditz. A rock was a few feet ahead and I pretended to twist my ankle. "Oh, no, I've become injured!"

Link chuckled while Dark rolled his eyes. Link walked to me, helping me up gently. "Are you okay?" He asked playfully.

"I think it's best if I glide."

"Agreed."

"We got three bird brains on your twelve, Link." Dark alerted us. He readied a bolt of Shadow Magic. It glowed on the base of his left hand and he held it up. "I'll take the far right one, you take the center, and Midna takes the left."

We shot forward like skilled assassins. The Master Sword caught the light of the morning sun, reflecting Link's brave stance to the smallest details as he launched forward, slaying the bird in one swipe to the head. Dark, obviously showing off, back flipped, dancing with the bird a little.

I, however, casually leaned against a rock, waiting for the overgrown, tainted and bloodthirsty blue bird to dive towards me. When it did, I let my hair loose into a hand-wave of Shadow Manipulation. The "hand" crushed the bird's neck easily, killing it instantly. It was more of a reflex to let my hair into that hand nowadays. I was proud and happy that Link and I had fought side by side like that, even with Dark.

Link was sheathing his sword when I turned to him. But that wasn't what my attention was on. "Hey! Cut it out!"

Puzzled, Link looked at me. "Umm, sorry? Didn't mean to sheath my sword?"

"Not you, Link! Dark! Stop that!"

Dark was killing the bird slowly. He had shot one wave of magic at the bird's foot, leaving it limping when it was charging him on the ground. He had shot another at its left wing, leaving it nearly defenseless. It cried out in pain.

Link, quick to do right by justice, drew his bloodied sword and jumped onto the bird's back, hitting the bird's head. The body fell limp and Link muttered something I couldn't understand. "Akisha somare' delak, Din peic oiy." He looked at me. "It's a prayer for the spirit to be set free into the open arms of the Goddess Din."

I glided towards Dark. "What the _hell?!_" I slapped him. "Are you _trying_ to be cruel like that?!"

"It's how I kill."

Link glared at him. "You'd better stop killing like that."

"Like you're one to talk!"

"My methods are humane, thank you."

Their bickering turned boring and I stared off into the field. It was empty. The horizon blurred with what I assumed was a heat wave. I squinted, and my eyes widened. Panic set in. "Link. You'd better take a look at this."

He didn't hear me. "Link! Dark! Look!"

Still no response. Their bickering continued. I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to get their attention. "THERE'S A FLEET OF ENEMIES COMING RIGHT AT US AND I'M GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT THEM ALONE IF YOU DON'T LISTEN UP!"

"Where?!" They gasped, their fight forgotten instantly. Link slipped into a ready stance, sword drawn, and Dark readied a blast of magic. I pointed at the quickly approaching line of opponents. Bublins riding boars. Moblins on fought. Archers on horseback. Every monster I had even seen, advancing very quickly upon us.

"_Din._" Link sucked in a sharp breath.

"Damn, that's a lot. This should be fun."

I didn't warn either of them. We waited, ready to fight for our lives. They were getting closer. I could see their forms perfectly against the sun. I saw a strange movement on horseback, then I screamed, horror struck.

But it was too late. The air soared, whizzing through the air. It hit Link and in my anger, I threw a wave of Twili Magic at the nearby fleet. Then, my lungs burning panicked air, I fell to the ground, crawling to Link's body that had fallen near rocks. His head rested against a rock, unconscious. "Dark! Fend them off!"

I set up a Shadow Barrier quickly. That should deter them for a while. I looked for the arrow and nearly fainted. It was dead centered on his chest. Dark mahogany liquid seeped around the arrow, through his tunic. I was afraid to pull the arrow out. What if it escalated the bleeding? Panic hit me freshly again. "What do I _do?_" I cried.

"Now would be a really go time—" Dark paused, throwing out a blast of magic—"to keep your end of the deal!"

"What if it kills him?!"

"What if it heals him?"

I pulled out a bottle of blue Chu jelly. That would at least sort of help his wounds, but it wouldn't last forever. I took a deep breath. I was out of stalling time. It was now or never. I looked at his peaceful, high cheek boned, low jawed face, his blonde hair blown across his closed eyes, and I set my jaw. I grabbed his right hand. The golden glow of the Triforce beamed up at me and I readied a wave of Shadow Magic.

**Oooh! Cliffy. I'll update soon, my dear reviewers.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy Memorial Day! Enjoy the update!**

_A/N: This chapter begins a little bit in the future of Chapter 9's cliff-hanger, I hope that's okay._

The world seemed painfully slow around me. The campfire warmed my face and my hands, but not my core. The grass whistled with the wind and swayed beneath my limp, motionless body. I hated myself for what I had done. What had I done? What had this deal meant? I bit my lip, anguish filling me. I writhed, squirming on the ground, knowing I couldn't ditch him _yet_. That I owed him my life.

And maybe even Link's.

/

_A/N: Back to where we left off._

My time was up. I squeezed my eyes shut, pulse pounding like a hammer, and let the magic flow from my hand. This strange defiance of magic forged inside of me, like the Triforce itself was fighting me.

It was like driving a nail into a wall. I slowed the flow of energy, checking as if to make sure that I hadn't blown off his head. His cheeks were flushed and it seemed like his jaw was set. A sheet of glistening sweet covered his face, but nothing more. I shot another dose of magic into the Triforce, pushing past its barrier….

Like a rag doll, I was thrown back—flung like a meaningless toy. I hit the rocks, groaning in the discomfort of the blow, then I looked up. Link's face was scrunched up and his breathing was slow, forced. Dark was repeatedly thrusting blows of magic out, shaking the ground beneath us, demolishing enemies with ease.

"Damn you!" I screeched. "It's not doing ANYTHING!" My voice was shrill with my anger.

"Don't forget that _you_ were the one who _did_ it—" With a grunt, he launched another wave. I slashed out a beam of magic at his head. He ducked almost instantly. The beam missed him. I screamed at him, hysterical. "And that you could have just let _me_!"

"At least THEN I'd have a _valid_ excuse to rip your HEAD off!"

Dark turned, as if to strike me, but he didn't. His crimson eyes were narrowed, fixed on something. I turned and tried to stifle a gasp of surprise. It came out as a choked sob and I gaped like an idiot.

Link stood, leaning his weight on the Master Sword. His Triforce glowed a shade of gray I had never seen. Its light was blinding, shooting off its own beams of magic. A small drip of blood plummeted down his tunic from his wound and he narrowed his eyes at the wound. The arrow fell out with a dry _pluck_ sound.

Like it hadn't injured him at all.

The blood had stopped flowing from the wound. The only blood that was visible was the blood that had stuck to his tunic. He glared up, eyes narrowed in concentration. "Move," He told Dark quite bluntly. I chuckled.

Dark blinked twice, then regained his composure. "Like you can even_ fight_ right now. Did you not notice that you just got—"

Link roughly pushed him aside, nodding at me. I turned towards the crowd of monsters, trampling over the dead bodies of their comrades, coming at us with full force. "Get behind me, Midna." And so I did.

Link lifted the Master Sword, muttering something I didn't hear. Dark frowned, slipping behind him as well—whether it was from what Link said or the fact that the Master Sword was glowing strangely—and we watched as Link lifted the sword.

He seemed to freeze, like he was reconsidering. The enemies continued to advance. They were getting way too close for comfort. I started to raise my hand in a Twili Shield, but Dark stopped me. "If he waits to long and gets us killed, we have something to blame him for. Let the idiot do what he wants."

And then Link brought the glowing sword down on the ground. A wave of power flew out of it, vibrating the ground we stood on. A gust of the magic caught Dark and I and threw us back. My yell was sucked clean of noise as I hit the ground, clutching the rocks in sheer panic as the wave of magic continued like a wind-storm over my head.

Then there was nothing.

I didn't hear anything. Not even the cry of a monster. Timidly I dragged myself up, turning, looking at the battlefield.

Bodies lay in mass piles, dumped like trash were they had been standing. Their skin was like charcoal, black and burnt beyond any sort of resemblance to what they had been seconds ago. I couldn't tell which bodies were which. They were stacked and dropped on top of each other.

"Sweet Din," I muttered. "The Master Sword wiped them all out."

I turned again, this time to Link. He was biting his lip, looking at his glowing Triforce. He had dropped the Master Sword. A streak of dark blue distorted the Triforce, blinking out of view every few seconds. "Is this what I think it is?"

Cowardly, I didn't meet his eyes. I heard the scrunch of dirt and I half expected something to hit me, but instead I heard something hit someone else. I looked up and couldn't resist a giggle of satisfaction.

Link assumed that _Dark_ had done it.

"What the _hell_ were you THINKING?! You could have killed me!" He screamed, hitting Dark again. Dark rolled his eyes in a childish protest.

"You've got the wrong person, genius." That was Dark's icy response.

Link turned to me and my mouth told a fact that was half-lie. "It was to save you," I choked out. "I didn't know what else I could do. I don't know anything about the medical procedures taken here, usually—" I just stopped, looking down. Anguish filled me again.

"Midna?" His voice was quiet.

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for something to go flying.

"Thank you. You did what you would have down in the Twilight Realm, and that was the only thing you knew how to do. You put up an effort and probably even saved us all."

Behind Link, I could see Dark's icy crimson glare pinned on my face and I turned away. I'd talk to that idiot later.

//

"What do you want?" I asked numbly, not really caring anymore. I didn't bother with a greeting. I had said I was going for a walk up-river from our camp at Lake Hylia. We'd use the Sky Cannon and then warp to the Mirror Chamber from the Desert in the morning. Dark had followed me, of course.

"What do _you_ think?"

"I don't know, your head's too thick to really hold any ideas for a long time."

"_I_ am hoping to get Gannon's Triforce as soon as possible. I don't know if it's possible for it to reach me in the Twilight Realm."

"This all revolves around the _hunch_ that you're the person it's going to go to," I retorted plainly, leaning against the river bank, dipping my toes into the warm water of the river.

"It's a good guess, don't you think?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

"How do I know you're not going to use it for world domination or something stupid like that, hmm?" I was doubtful that any promise he made would be kept.

"You don't, but if you're interested in the _positive_ benefits for you, it means that someone would have to get to me through the Twilight Realm to complete the Triforce. And if I got the mirror out of the equation, that'd be out of the question. If I kept the pieces for myself, then whoever wanted to get to me wouldn't be able to. Simple as that."

He did have a good point. It would keep both realms safer…wait. Was I agreeing with the bastard? "Why do you even _want_ it?"

"Do you think I _like_ having my share of the Wild Lands mobbed every day?"

"You're lying. That's not your only motivation."

"If you say so, Midna. But remember this, I could kill you both if I wanted to and then get the Triforce of Courage as well. And maybe _Zelda's_ Triforce would even be given to me since you're housing her inside of you…" He trailed off, flashing a malicious grin.

I rolled my eyes. He, again, had a point. I'd rather let him have _one_ Triforce Shard then all of them. "Deal. But you scram as soon as you get that Triforce. And if it doesn't get to you within a week of us killing Ganondorf, you give up. Understood?"

And so he had talked me into another deal.

I really needed to kill him.

**Well, there you go! Blood's Shadow Chapter 9 is out—and 10 will be in progress as soon as I update Goodbye, Hello.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, everyone! I'm officially done with the school year!! YEA!  
-Does a happy dance-**

**I'll be packing my bags to go back east for 7 weeks during the next week, but I _should_ update a lot in the 7 weeks—otherwise, please smack me upside the head.**

**I'm listening to Paramore, thus the seemingly "happy punk" of the chapter. :) Oh, and I finished Jane Eyre. Though it's a VERY good read, I do not agree with her choice in the end. -eye roll- Whatever.**

**Moving on...enjoy the chapter, I hope it's better than the last. Please don't be afraid to tell me your opinion, I'm always looking to improve!  
**

It was a strange time before dawn and after the night when we left for the desert. The sky was an enchanting dark blue that glowed, casting shadows across the surface of the lake, but not throwing rays of sunlight. It was like Twilight without multiple colors. Dark, but light. It was a sliver of dawn and a sliver of night.

I observed from Link's shadow as he and Dark—Dark was cloaked, of course—crossed the wobbly wooden platform bridge that led to Fyer's cannon. "Two Oasis flights, please," Link told him. He tossed him two rupees—the leaning house cannon shadowed the porch, I couldn't tell which color they were—and waited for Fyer to give him the "okay" to go into the cannon.

"Sure thing, pal...who's your friend?"

Link opened his mouth to speak but Dark did instead. "Travel companions, not friends. Don't get them confused." His tone clarified the fact perfectly. Fyer nodded slowly.

"Alright..."

Moments later, the cannon released us into the sky. I felt the wind through us through the air like rag dolls, discarded from the child's toy bin as if we were trash. Link let out a yell that was sucked out, carried by the distance. Even Dark let loose a little.

My eyes were squeezed shut with anxiety, so when we landed in the desert seconds later, I didn't see. I felt Link land of the soft cushion of sand followed by Dark, then fits of coughing. "Never gets old," Link laughed between coughs.

The anxiety did not fade. It intensified. "Well, we should warp from here. No sense in wearing ourselves down right before..." He trailed off. Nobody wanted to admit that this would probably be the last time we'd feel the warmth of the sand between our toes or the heat of the desert.

"Dark can walk," I spat.

Dark rolled his eyes. "Now, really, Midna..." He winked, muttering something more. Something flashed in my vision and I fell backwards to the ground, letting out a cry. I felt my body hit the sand; but the scene was different.

"_Do you think I like having my share of the Wild Lands mobbed every day?"_

"_You're lying. That's not your only motivation."_

"_If you say so, Midna. But remember this, I could kill you both if I wanted to and then get the Triforce of Courage as well. And maybe Zelda's Triforce would even be given to me since you're housing her inside of you…" _

"I think she saw a frightening mirage...heat stroke doesn't set in that quickly," Link was musing. I didn't see anything but the pale blue of my eyelids that were seemingly glued shut. I could feel pinpoints of heat, mainly where my legs were touching the sand.

Dark snorted. "If ya can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen..."

I opened my eyes and sat up. _Damn him! Damn him, damn him, DAMN HIM! _I knew he had sent that flashback to me to remind me to "play nice." Something occurred to me, however. If he had the "power" to take us down, why didn't he? He had an alternative motive. But WHAT? I knew that he had his own desires, besides power.

A disturbing thought that had lingered the other day, when we were waiting for Link to come out of the village. _"Ah, but there is, Midna. You're such good company."_ He had said that. I gagged, realizing that my lingering thought was possibly a fact. _Good company? GOOD COMPANY?! Do I look like some sort of girl who ends up falling in love with the guy that's malicious?!_ Disgust and anger filled me and I gagged again.

"Woah, easy, Midna. I think you saw a mirage."

I answered through gritted teeth, glaring at Dark. "Yes. A mirage."

Dark grinned. "If it was just a mirage, you'll be just fine. Get up and let's hurry to the Palace."

"I can warp us or Dark can, though his magic makes me sick to the stomach..." I gagged, though this time it was fake. "Hope I don't puke on you."

Dark rolled his eyes. "Let's stop wasting time, shall we?" He snapped his fingers, uttering a spell. Just like that night when we warped Link to the village, the magic warped the world _around_ us, sucking us into an inversion of a portal. It spun me, taking my breath away.

And then, just like that, the world was stable. A sandstone floor greeted me and I saw the steps to the platform of the mirror. I stumbled towards them, but the world was still spinning slightly. I smacked face-first into a pillar. "Ow," I muttered, falling backwards. I scooted to the platform, letting Link help me up. I floated upwards, leaning against his shoulder.

I removed the three shards of the Mirror, shooting them at the pedestal like rays of light. The now complete portal glowed brightly, transmitting a huge ray of light at the rock. A transparent stair appeared.

"Wow," I heard Link say.

I carefully stepped onto the stair, nervous it would drop me. It was sturdy, however, and I put my weight on it.

"We are sorry that we failed you, brave one, o Hero of Light."

Those damn sages again. I rolled my eyes and then froze. The Sages would probably notice our very unwelcome "companion" Dark. My gaze shot to Link after scanning the room. "_He's here_," Link mouthed.

The anxiety from earlier churned in my stomach as their hollow voices continued. "A great entity lurks in the realm of Twilight....."

"We'll get him," Link responded with a grave, honorable weight on his words.

We both stepped onto the stair. "We have someone else to apologize to, O Hero."

Their voices echoed and I sucked in a sharp breath at their words. "O Twilight Princess Midna, your Realm has suffered the worst for our mistakes."

Link stepped back, eyes wide and bleeding with the sharp betrayal I knew he felt. I hung my head, tears rising to my eyes. I thought my identity was a secret, except to Dark and Zelda. "So you knew all along," I whispered.

"Go and vanquish evil from the slate of the present and possibly the future."

And then they were gone.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered, voice weak. Link tried to put his hand on my cheek but I stepped away quickly. A strange feeling of anger lingered in my voice when I responded.

"Because I didn't want to make anyone feel obliged to help me! Oh, poor Princess Midna. Oh, poor Princess Midna needs someone else to do her dirty work for her. Do you know how bad that sounds?" I snapped. I didn't mean for my words to sound like that, but they did.

"How sorrowful." Dark seemed to appear from nowhere, voice cruel and mocking. "It seems they've spoiled your secrets..."

"_SHUT UP!_" I screamed at him.

Link looked at me, eyes wary but friendly. I knew he wouldn't forgive me so easily now. I looked like I was some secretive double agent, playing my cards, letting the poor hero pity me...I looked like the villain in some story. A moment of silence passed.

"We're wasting time," Link finally mused.

"Agreed. Let's go kick some usurper's ass, shall we?" Dark's voice turned hard. "You do know that Ganon might be with _him_, right? And if he is—"

"We can do the math," I snarled. He rolled his eyes.

I stepped onto the steps of the stair, finally reaching the top. I waited till they were right behind me, and then I stepped inside the black and gold of the spinning vortex. I felt a familiar feeling of dissolving into nothingness, then the feeling of being _moved_.

And then we were on the ground.

My Realm was as beautiful as ever. The sky was a dark gold streaked with blue, black rain falling from those colors, bleeding onto the stone islands that floated in the sky. The island the Mirror was on was connected by platform to one other, each part holding a large, gray modern building with purple streaks. The one we were on had a "Town Circle", where...beasts? roamed. I heard Link say "What a warm welcome," and then I cried out.

"Stop!"

Dark and I half tackled him, knocking the Master Sword from him. He groaned from beneath us and Dark and I exchanged a glance. We both knew that they were not monsters. They were the people of our realm, their faces stolen by Black Shadow Magic.

"Can't breathe!"

"Don't attack them," I warned. Dark and I rolled off of him and we quickly stood in formation. "They're my people...they've been cursed, just as I."

Link nodded. "We'll restore them."

We walked up the path. A dark curtain of black magic flowed. "Use the Master Sword, its power should clear that easily." And so the glowing sword cut through the curtain. We jumped onto the "porch" of the palace.

"You guys ready to put up one hell of a fight?"

"Yea."

Link pushed the doors open.

**I'm very happy with this chapter, actually—what about you guys? I'm excited to write the next few chapters! **

**Just a note: This "First Installment" of the trilogy series, TriShadow, I'm writing, isn't going to end when I kill off Ganon. It'll go for a little longer after that, believe it or not.**

**Tell me what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey! This chapter is told in clips and flashbacks…I don't want to play through or watch a walk through of the Palace of Twilight and then apply it to my fic….where's the fun in that? So here you go.**

I was lying on the floor, my heart pounding in my ears, waiting for something to come and end my life. I had flattened myself against the black tile floor of the Throne room, praying silently that the next blast wouldn't be the last I'd see.

Somehow, I was torn. I wanted to fight, to get up, but I knew as soon as I moved it would be over. I didn't know if Dark and Link were still alive or if they had been killed by a blast. I wanted to find Link's hand in the darkness, the humidity of the room, and entwine my fingers with his and tell him _thank you_. He had restored my people to their original forms using the Sols, with my help restraining the "Guardian" Hand….I was terrified I'd never get to thank him for that.

Another blue, lightning blast of Twili Magic broke the quiet and dark, illuminating the room for a few precious seconds. The high walls' cyan markings glowed, shedding light upon forms—unmoving, as I—and then dimming out.

I stiffened. That blast had only been a few feet away.

It was like some twisted version of Musical Chairs.

So I rolled, quietly, just being safe. I thought I had been stealthy, but a huge bolt erupted where I had been. I uttered a swear and rolled again. Another bolt struck where I had been. I rolled, the bolt struck, and it kept going that way. _You'll hit a wall soon_.

I hoped that Dark and Link were about to take action, because my clock was ticking rapidly.

A strange squishing noise echoed, then a gurgled yell. I tensed, waiting for the next bolt to strike.

Nothing.

I looked up and gasped.

Dark and Link were both holding blades into Zant's chest. They looked at each other and shared one long look. "I could have taken him myself."

"Get over your ego, Dark. You'd be dead if I didn't help and you know it."

I was too frozen in shock and panic to move. Link let go of his blade, letting in stay in Zant. Dark seemed to be checking to make sure Zant was dead. Link jumped down from the gray platform, past the stairs, and came to where I sat.

"Midna?"

Rage filled me. "He's not dead," I whispered through gritted teeth.

"Of course he's dead, _I_ killed him," Dark protested.

"He's not dead. I'm not changed back, _idiot_." I stood up, letting my hair ready into a hand. "Move, Dark, or I'll finish you off too." Zant's head was bowed, face the color of Lake Hylia's surface. I knew he wasn't dead. He couldn't be. I let my hair flow out in a swift pole, impaling him.

His head snapped up and even with the Evil's Bane in him, he grinned at me. "My God is not dead. I am not dead. My God is not dead. I am not dead. My God is not—"

I shrieked in defiance and thrust the Twili Magic hand into his chest again. The pole expanded and "finger" branches of it climbed his neck, strangling him. "Damn you," I whispered. The white of his eyes was all that was visible, but I _still_ knew he wasn't dead.

I withdrew my hand. The sheer force I hadn't realized I was using magnified back to me. I collapsed, gasping. Link ran to my side but I put my hand out, silently telling him to stop. I took a deep breath, then stood. "…I just used a fraction of my ancestor's power," I gaped at my still cursed hands.

"We're going to Hyrule Castle. We need to end this. We need to—"

Dark hissed out a swear and I turned, not finishing my sentence. "We don't need to go to Hyrule Castle, after all," He muttered, a bitter smile coming across his face.

The door to the Throne Room was taken up by the space of a large man, no doubt immortal or demon. He had unnaturally brownish green skin and dull crimson eyes. His bulky frame was covered in black scale armor.

My heart skipped a beat. It was Ganondorf—I was positive.

"So you're Ganon," I called across the room.

His lip twitched, but he did not speak. He stepped forward. I stepped forward as well, Link and Dark flanking my sides with their swords drawn.

Dark poised himself for battle. "Let's skip to the part where you _die_!" He hissed, no doubt thinking about Ganon's Triforce. A beam of Twili Magic shot across the room, destroying the exit. The stones melted at the harsh spell, boiling over the door.

Ganon grunted, then he seemed to suck the light from the room. I gasped, then bit my lip. I needed to be on my toes, ready to run at any second. Blackness was _everything_…I could not see if he was moving.

The light came back to the room and I let out a cry of defiance. Zelda sat—or, rather, her possessed body—hung limp in the air, a sword in the grasp of her gray, discolored hands. Her dress was strangely dragged on her thin body, hair matted greasily.

I flew at her body, screaming swears at the man I _knew_ had possessed her. "_Damn you!_" I readied a bolt of magic that would render the body immobile without harming it. The sword raised, and before I could defend myself, its handle bashed down on my head.

My ears rang and my head vibrated as my body was slammed into the wall, terror reigning control of my body. "_Midna!_" Link yelled. I groaned.

I heard a sword clash—steel against steel—and then nothingness.

/

"Midna."

I knew that voice. Soft, gentle, female.

"Midna, can you hear me?" Was that Zelda?

I lazily fluttered my eyelids, my vision blurring into focus. A woman sat a few feet away from me, golden hair hung into a waist length braid, tied with gold sashes. She wore a black cloak, the hood down, revealing the pale feather white of her face's skin. Her eyes were a moist, mossy green, boring into my own eyes, letting me know she was watching. Her thin frame—the way it hugged the cloak—let me know who it was. "Zelda?"

She nodded. I tried to stand but she restrained me. "You took a bad blow from Ganon's puppetry, don't stand just yet. I don't know how you'll react to the Blue Chu Jelly that Link administered."

"Whatever you say," I muttered, bitter. Wherever we were, it was dark. I saw the glow of a barrier around us, preventing us from going in or out. "Where are we?"

"I don't exactly know. Once the puppetry was vanquished, I was restored to my body, and some sort of illusionary magic has transported us to this 'playing field' of sorts. Before I could run in to help, a barrier was put up."

"Is Dark fighting with Link?"

Her lips set into a frown. "Yes, he is…Midna, how is it possible—?"

I rolled my eyes. "That someone could be such a bastard? Got me. All I know is that he's Link's 'storage container' of darkness and he's a real pain in the neck. Came out of the Lakebed Temple and then bada-bing bada-boom, he…"

_Guess I shouldn't tell her about the whole blackmail deal._

Zelda gasped. "Midna, can you generate a bow? And arrows?"

"Sure, and while I'm at it, I'll buy us the Twilight Realm!"

"Stop the sarcasm; this might be my only chance to help." I rolled my eyes and mentally ripped through my Shadow Storage, finally snapping my fingers to generate a crude bow and a quiver of arrows. A Moblin had dropped them a while back and I had picked them up as a trophy of sorts.

Zelda poised herself as a true archer would, stretching the bow back, one eye squinted shut. I glanced out into the blackness and saw the faint glow of swords and Magic beams. Zelda was aiming at the largest sword—Ganon's, I supposed. The arrow whizzed from the bow as she released the string.

I heard it hit, and then I heard a grunt.

The barrier disintegrated around us and I ran out, hopping through the air with light Magic spells. Zelda was on my heels as we reached the battle ground.

Ganon was on the ground, impaled with the Master Sword. His eyes were shut, the faint glow of blood reflecting on the sword. Good riddance. Dark was rubbing his arm, cursing. "Damn, that was a good battle."

Link was also clutching his arm, a few drops of blood dripping onto his hand. I gasped, shocked.

"Hey, Midna. You're awake, finally!" Link smiled.

I was about to scold him for getting hurt, but I stopped short, slowly turning on my heel.

It happened in seconds. I saw the glow of the Triforce pulse on Ganon's hand and then I instinctively snapped up a barrier, separating Ganon and myself from Zelda, Dark, and Link. I crouched, readying an offensive spell.

Ganon stood, cackling. "You thought you could defeat me," He rasped.

"Yea, ugly, and we _will_," I responded confidently.

"Let us see, foolish Midna…" An offensive spell knocked me off my feet and I rolled, crouching again. I hopped back and forth like Link did when he fought Gorons. A vibrating magic beam shot from his fist but I dodged, firing my own. It nicked him on the arm—it was not enough to knock him down.

"Midna!" Link yelled from behind the barrier.

I heard Dark curse. "Look at his Triforce. It's glowing bright red. He'll use it to create an explosive—"

That was all I needed to know. I knew we were in an illusionary field—so we hadn't actually left the Palace Throne Room. I knew the land well enough that I could warp them outside. Defiance filled me. I would not let them die.

I looked back at Link, meeting his eye. "Bye," I whispered, my voice choked with sadness. He opened his mouth to protest but I had enough strength and manga in my system to warp the three of them out. They dissolved into black squares, fading away from the illusive field.

"Quite touching, Midna, but your time is up!"

His Triforce was glowing so vibrantly that I couldn't look at it. "See you in hell!" I screeched, throwing out bolts of magic. They struck his skin, some jerking out, some sticking. Ganon threw his own beam of magic—it hit my arm—but I didn't stop fighting. I knew it was time to use the Fused Shadows. I didn't know how to use them, but I knew I had to.

They, at my command, warped from my Shadow Storage. The pieces came together in a bulk. I had two slits for vision. My mind whirled and this sickening blackness stabbed at me. It was thick. I cried out and my body slipped from my control, morphing into something—Din knows what. I struck wildly, reigning for control of that glorious power that pulsed through my veins.

Something stabbed at me, but it was weak to my power. I thrust out a Trident shaped blow and I heard a yell and a squishing noise. I couldn't see very well, but I was positive I hit. I repeated those random spells, those random offensives, hearing more grunts and yells.

I heard a noise—like a warp portal opening—and gasped, shocked. A heat wave struck me, a blinding light filled my vision….

I fell limp to the floor.

//

**I was going to leave it at that…but I'm a nice person, and since I need to pack 7 weeks of clothes by tonight—and I won't update again till next week, or rather I won't find the **_**time**_** to update till next week…I've decided to give you a little more. Enjoy!**

//

I was lying on a warm surface—like the crook of a crevice—feeling very…stiff. I was not in the Twilight Realm, but, rather, I could see I was in Hyrule Field. I saw three forms fighting—two on foot with swords, one on horseback with a bow—against one bulkier form. Ganon. I snarled, enraged. Hey, wait! How could I be seeing them fight? Hadn't Ganon killed me back in the Twilight Realm?

I stood, confused, and then I stopped short. I was…tall. And thin. And…tall.

_I was tall._

That simple fact caused me to go into blubbering hysterics. I ran my hands along the cool, pale blue surface of my flesh, of my calves, of my arms, of my legs. I ran my long fingered hands through my hair—my glorious, ember flame hair that was pinned into a bun—and fit my hands to my face. My high cheek boned, full face…with my amber eyes, with my narrowed and slanted eyebrows—the face and body of a mature, nineteen year old Twili. _Me._

I was wearing a cloak alike to Zelda's, except mine had no front. I wore a black outfit that looked like a five year old had found black fabric scraps and sewn them together. It had the embroidering of the Twili—cyan and green glyphs.

I was _me._ I was in my true form. How was that possible?

A great shudder wracked the ground beneath my bare feet. I glanced back at the battlefield and let out a shriek of victory. Ganon was frozen, the Master Sword running _clear through him._

He was dead.

I ran down the hill clumsily, down, through the field, shrieking out let a crazed peasant. Heads turned, I saw tear stricken faces, and I laughed.

I paused a while away. They were frozen, looking at me like I was a freak. I winced. They didn't recognize me. I knew that I still had my fanged-smile, and so I grinned brightly.

Link slowly walked towards me, then broke into an all out run. "Midna!" He yelled.

He studied me when he was a few feet away. The world glowed brightly, a golden sunset casting shadows and light across the field, across us all. I felt a joy so powerful that I could do nothing but smile and laugh. "What? Am I so beautiful you have no words?"

Link threw his arms around me and I choked out a laugh. "Here I was, thinking you missed me, and now you're depriving me of oxygen!"

"I thought you were dead," He whispered in my ear.

"I did, too. But no, the Almighty Midna returns."

Zelda and Dark trotted up the hill, arguing about renovation rates and, of course, the best way to kill.

_Only a week. A week and then I can have my life with Link._

Or so I thought.

**So I updated—yay! Next is Goodbye, Hello—I promise! I wanted to get this update out. Anyway, this first installment of TriShadow is not over just yet—we still have seven days to go. And a lot can happen in those seven days…tell me what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Finally, I'm updating. Enjoy!**

Hyrule had not suffered much damage at all. The fields were a little dried up due to the huge beams of magic during the fight, but otherwise, the Light Realm was untouched. I had not looked at my realm, nor did I intend to. I would send a Twili message through the portal and to the Council to alert them of my honorable resignation.

I sat at the base of a willow tree, letting the shade cast over my body and letting my feet touch the sand and shallow, pure water. I was hoping that Link wouldn't find me until _after_ everyone in the village had gone to sleep. That would be hours, considering the sun was high in the sky and did not appear to be wanting to go lower.

Hearing footsteps, I stiffened against the tree, shifting. My toes splashed the water, no doubt giving me away. I sighed as Link rounded the corner. "Midna, they'll love you—I promise we won't make a big deal out of it." His husky voice soothed my frazzled nerves.

"You know I'm not a real people person. Where is Dark?"

"Sulking in Castle Town. Zelda's got a guard patrol on him, twenty four seven," He assured me. I chuckled, content that he had to be watched like I child. _I_, however, was free to travel the land.

Link rolled his eyes and extended a hand, looking into my eyes. His eyes were the exact shade of blue that the spring water was, I noticed. "Fine. I'll go meet your idiotic village…"

"We leave our windows open at night in the warmer seasons—it's that simple."

I rolled my eyes, taking his hand. We walked through the shade of the woods, entering his small clearing. A huge Elm tree housed his home—a tree house, actually—peacefully serene in this fairy-tale like place. At the gates to town, I planted my feet. A quick wave of worry spread over me. "I am _not_ going into town wearing this."

I was still wearing my "scrap" outfit. I looked like the whores in Castle Town that sat outside Telma's Bar all day.

Link sighed. "Fine, come inside. You can borrow some of…" He stopped for a minute. "…Tetra's old clothes."

He still had his mother's clothes…how sad for him. "Alright." I put my hands on the ladder, pulling myself to the door. When I opened it, the refreshing smell of Pumpkin stew greeted me. I stepped across the cedar floor, past the bookcases and Pictographs on the wall. "Where are they?" I asked. I walked into the back room, putting my hands on the ladder that led to the root cellar.

I dropped my hands, falling into the blackness. I landed on the wood floor with a thud, using a current of magic in my hands to illuminate the cellar. Boxes sat, gathering dust, amongst shelves that were lined with preserved foods. "Cellar, second shelf in the back. To the left of the chest," He called. I nodded and felt my way to the place he described. My hands found dusty cloth, yanking.

The outfit I had pulled out was a simple gown—mahogany colored with maple highlights—with a bell shaped skirt finish. It had a shawl on top of it, I noticed. I pulled off my clothes and slipped on the new dress, letting the shawl drape over my shoulders. I looked around for a mirror, and when I found one, I gasped.

I looked like a Light Dweller. Of course the blue skin was a drawback, but maybe in time the sunlight would fix it. My orange hair could easily be passed as naturally neon…my face was not unusual. The red eyes would not be frowned upon—I looked human. Pretty, even. I was slender and tall, with a sharp face and observant eyes—nothing unusual.

"Midna? Did you find them?"

"Yes," I responded quietly. I walked towards the ladder but turned and stole one last look at the mirror. I frowned at the reflection. The body had changed into someone human. Someone with butter-brown skin and emerald eyes, with golden hair pinned up in a bun. Her face was sharp, a little like mine, but a little bit softer. She was my height and just as lean. She frowned and once I blinked, all there was left was my reflection.

A little surprised, I shook my head. "Link?" I asked.

"What's wrong?"

"I just thought I saw something. Just an illusion, I suppose. Don't worry about it," I told him as I climbed up the ladder. He helped me once I reached the top. He gawked at me and I rolled my eyes, amused. "Shut up, dog boy."

"I would transform into a wolf, but since the Master Sword is back in the Sacred Grove, I wouldn't be able to change back. Where's the fun in that?"

I sighed. "Alright, enough rambling. Let's get this dreaded meeting over with."

/

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Midna," Uli smiled at me as her curvy form shadowed the doorway. Her soft, kind face was always wearing a bright smile—I liked that about her. "You'll come again, yes?"

"Of course," I responded politely.

"Have a nice night," She spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake her son—Colin, if I recalled correctly—who slept on the couch. She gently closed the door. Link clasped my hand in his.

"You did a nice job," He whispered. I smiled, amused with how he was a little shocked.

"A nice job? I don't think Zelda herself could have done a better job at being polite," I responded, swinging our entwined hands as we strolled down the slope that their house was built on. The sandy creek banks that lined the whole creek that ran through the village were alive with fireflies and frogs. The darkness was warm and humid, a little misty. A full moon shone high above, reflecting onto the water surface. I sighed contently.

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it, O Princess Midna?" He chuckled.

I playfully smacked his arm, rolling my eyes. We strolled in sweet silence back to Link's treehouse.

"I'll take the couch," I offered once the door was shut. Link shook his head.

"Nope, you get the bed. It's up in the loft."

"You're such a gentleman. It gets a little annoying," I told him, climbing up the ladder onto the little platform that held a bookcase and a sitting chair. I tripped over a book and it toppled over the edge. "Oops," I called.

Link didn't respond and I assumed the worst. "I really hope that book was sentimental or something!" I called.

"No—no…it's just a book of myths."

I didn't like the hesitation in his voice. He threw it back up to me and I moved some books around, hoping he'd think I put it back. I slipped it under my dress. "You sure you don't want the mat?" I called when I climbed the second ladder to the loft. I bumped my head twice when I was laying down on the futon mattress. It was worn and thin, but comfortable.

"Yea. I'm sure. Night, Midna!"

"Night," I whispered. I heard him blow out a few lanterns, only leaving the fire from the broiling pot in the kitchen as light. I waited a few minutes and then pulled the book out. I lit up a Twili candle, leaving it on the floor next to me. A wave of blue light danced across the dusty red cover. _The Trishadow._ I frowned, a little interested. When I opened up the book, flipping to a random page, I gasped.

The dark ink showed a tale with pictographs, delicately drawn. It showed the Triforce—full, all three pieces connected—fusing with something. Something bulky. A helmet—the Fused Shadow helmet!—on one page. Then, on the next page, it showed the Triforce engraved into the Fused Shadow. The next, there was a poorly drawn scene of a man wearing the helmet, a cloud of dark magic surrounding him. He seemed to be arguing with the other people. Some had engravings on their unevenly shaded skin—Twilis, I supposed—and others did not. A feeling of dread spread through me.

In the next, dead bodies lay scattered around the man. A man wearing a horribly familiar tunic. A woman wearing a horribly familiar, long, flowing cloak.

And the man held a woman by the hair. A woman with a horribly familiar face and outfit.

She looked like…

_Me._

I gasped, biting into the mat's pillow. _It's a myth. A tale. Just a story. Just a story…It's just a story._ I forced my tense fingers to flip to the last page.

_**The future.**_

I shut the book, shoved it under the pillow, and blew out the candle.

That was day one.

Six more to go.

**Hope you like it!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey, guys! I will, of course, give you a chapter, but I'd enjoy if you read this AN. I've been listening to some music that fits Blood's Shadow, and now, after rereading this chapter…I've decided to just give a **_**slight**_** warning. While it's nothing OMG! morbid in this chapter…just be aware that there are some darker concepts later on in the chapter. If you'd like to be prepared, I'll give you a note that the "darker" concepts don't appear until Midna visits Dark. Eh. It's not that bad. Darkness FTW!**

**Oh, and you might have noticed I changed the description:**

_**Please don't let that be Link's blood. Please. I was knee deep in the warm liquid, swimming with the rotting corpses. I saw his face and screamed in horror. Dark jerked the sword out of Link's face sickeningly. Blood sprayed me. "The future, Midna."**_

**That's a sneak peak for the later chapters. If you want to know the fate of our oh so dear hero, then I'd put this on story alert. But then again, all you reviewers have a talent for knowing when I update…-shifty eyes-**

**Onward!**

_Day Two._

My sleep had not been well. Whether it was that book—what was it called? The TriShadow?—or the fact I still had another six days of Hell to go, I just didn't get a restful sleep. It was about dawn when I threw off the thin sheet and walked to the shutters of the window. I opened them, letting the golden morning light wash onto my skin.

A pleasant smell of dew drifted in, followed by the scents of warm bread and sweets. Breakfast, in a farm village, would be early—I assumed the fact. This simple life revolved around using the daylight for activity. In my realm, usually the activity was done _whenever_, because when there's a light that never grows dim, your sleep schedule is a little off.

I was content, staring out the window. I wonder if I looked beautiful to anyone that could see me. Or even wistful. I had my chin in my hands, just thinking.

"Morning," Link's husky voice sounded in my ear and I jumped, bumping my head against the loft's low ceiling. "Sorry!"

I gasped for air and laughed at the same time. "I'll make it up to you. I have to help Fado clean the Stalls, but you don't have to stick around. I'll give you some Rupees and you can go shopping in Castle Town."

A little excitement filled me. Me, alone, in the Light Realm. In my true form. Enjoying myself. _Shopping_. Suddenly, as superficial as that was, all I wanted was a nice herb crème for my skin, and a bar of peppermint soap. Chocolate sounded good, too. My mind ached for those desires and I sighed, giving in. "You're going to spoil me," I warned.

He smiled, whispering in my ear. "I know."

/

About an hour later, I had opted to just warp there—it would save me some daylight. Link let me borrow some of Tetra's more casual clothtes—a white silk undershirt and a cute pair of black trousers. "If you don't mind, while you're there, see if you can get any information about where the kids are. They're probably still packing their things to come back, but, still…" Link called up.

I decided to make the cot back up, just in case I was too tired to do it when I got back. When I did, I put that stupid book back. When I did, however, a note fell out. In scraggy cursive, I read _The future_ again.

Something about that wasn't right. I frowned, putting it in my pocket. I made up the cot, bid Link farewell, and warped.

/

Castle Town was a bundle of teak carts and tarps, merchants and food, stores, and other such goods. The town itself was enclosed in a fortress-like barrier of stone walls, bridges and moats surrounding it. The scenery was lush, with moss and large elm trees to shade and cool. The architecture was grand, with stone paths and stone fountains—anything that could be covered in stone _was._ There were large oak doors and black latches on the doors. It was like each building was its own palace.

I went to a small cart that carried delicate soaps. "Hello," I greeted the innocent looking young woman working the stall. She looked up from a book she had been reading.

"Oh, hi! Oh, wow, are you that girl who was with the Hero on his journey? The one that helped so much in that final battle?"

I made a mental note to tell Zelda that, next time we happened to save the world, keep my name _out_ of the whole ordeal. I smiled a frustrated smirk and responded tightly. "I _told_ her not to make a big deal out of it; but you know Princess Zelda. Always insisting on doing the right thing…"

"Wow. I bet with all that battling and fighting, you could really use some pampering, huh?"

"Yea, that'd be the general idea."

"Well, I have these soaps, made from flowers picked locally…"

/

About an hour later, I had several things in the bag I carried over my shoulder. I had collected a nice bunch of simple floral soaps and "mountain mist" perfumes from the nice lady at the soap stall. I had bought a salad at the Café in the square and chatted with the locals while we sat on the patio, eating lunches. I had bought Link a ruby-embedded dagger with a gold cover.

I had a few more things for some other people. After all, I wasn't a soulless monster. I had bought toy swords for the children of Ordon, and I had even bought that Ilia girl something—a simple golden locket. And I saved the best for Zelda. I had bought a golden stone necklace and then injected a wave of Shadow Magic into it. A streak of dark blue appeared on the necklace like lightning. Curious, I did the same with Link's dagger.

So I'd always be with them—I was content.

I kept my promise to Link and decided to walk down Telma's alley. I opened the door and stepped in the musky building, my shoes clicking onto the wood of the floor. Telma looked up from behind the bar.

"Well this must be the secret gal that Link was travelling with! Come in, sit down—Midna, was it?" As usual, Telma was chatty. She made a big deal of who I should meet and everything else under the Goddesses.

She poured me a drink and I sipped at it politely as we exchanged stories. There was something about her that I liked—I think it was her attitude.

The door chimed and I looked up to see a woman in a snow wolf blouse and black trousers. She was pale, thin, a few inches shorter than I was, and had coal black hair that was pinned back in a bun. Her blue eyes sparkled on her face—an unusual, heart shaped but squared off face, but pretty nevertheless—as she saw me.

"So you're the woman Link's been hiding out with?" She smiled.

I blushed a little. "Word travels fast, doesn't it?"

"You bet it does, girl. And I'm glad I caught you. I got a weird note on my door this morning—in a different language. Weird symbols. I've been trying to decipher it, but I can't…you wanna give it a crack? It reminds me of the engravings on your skin."

Wow. I _really_ liked her. She didn't bother with, "Hi, I'm Ashei—I'm so honored to meet you!", but she launched into let's-get-down-to-business mode. Honorable trait, in my eyes.

"I don't think my IQ's much better than your's, but if you have that low of self esteem…" I feared I was too blunt, but Ashei laughed with Telma and handed me the note. It was on a torn piece of parchment.

_/ X\}.

I gasped in surprise.

_**The future.**_

I grit my teeth. "The future."

Ashei looked at me. "Excuse me?"

"The future—that's what it says. It's in Twili."

"Wow…that's a unique alphabet. I'll have to try that one out, and I'm hiring you as my tutor."

I laughed tensely. "As much as I'd like to stay, ladies, I've got some business to take care of." I lifted my bag over my shoulder and nodded at Telma.

"You take care of that business, hon, and don't go leavin on us any time soon."

I waved with two fingers as I left. As soon as I knew the door was shut behind me, I broke into a sprint towards the Palace.

Two guards stopped me at the gates. While I waited from them to finish approaching me, I took in the palace. It took only seconds. All stone, tall with towers, moss and ivy, large trees. Marble steps and flooring—grand. Beautiful. A fairytale…you get the picture.

The guards in bulky armor tapped me on the shoulders. "Ma'am, Princess Zelda is swamped with interviews—"

"Midna!" Zelda called from the arch above the gate.

"Hey, Z." I winked at the guard and strolled pass. Zelda ran above me, down the stairs on the walls, and towards me. She was graceful, even in blurred movements.

"I was afraid you had left us already."

"Pssh, I'm not that mean. I'm not gonna dump Dark on you like that," I rolled my eyes, laughing with her happily. I reached into my back and pulled the necklace out of it. "For the lovely Princess of Hyrule, aka my soul sister."

She gasped as I dropped the jewelry into her outstretched palm. "It's gorgeous—is that fragmented Shadow Magic?"

"I add my signature to my gifts."

"I see. I assume you're going back to Link's?"

"Yes, I'd like to see Dark in a cage before I do so. Just having the upper hand _once_ would be good for my ego."

"Very well." She pulled a key off of her necklace and put the one I bought her on. "Go into the man hall, to your left, first corridor. Go down the stairs and then it's the last cell on block one."

"Umm, no clue what you just said, but alright."

I had kept my cool. If I waited until I got to Dark's holding room, I could go into a rage and nobody would notice. I walked across the marble and the velvet rugs, down the halls light by chandeliers and torches, and finally down the stairs into the surprisingly clean dungeons.

Marble floor, stone walls, torches. Damn. There I was, hoping it'd be a sewer, and he might as well had been wearing a golden robe.

And his _cell_ was the size of Link's living room!

"Aww, here I was, hoping you'd be chained to a wall," I mocked, walking into his sight. He leapt up from the cushions on the bench that he had.

"Can you _believe_ this? They're keeping me here with nothing on me! I am _not_ a scum such as a criminal," He amended himself. I rolled my eyes.

"Jeez, I wonder how they got the idea," I muttered dryly.

He pressed his face against the iron bars. "You got my notes?" He asked with an evil smirk.

"Quite clever of you to use Ashei as a way to get to me. Very devious, though I'm sure Zelda would be surprised to hear you're leaving with a permission slip…" I winked at him, dangling the key. He frowned.

"And of course you read the book? I'm sure that was very interesting for you."

Then I stopped with the friendly attitude and snapped.

"_Damn you!_" I screeched at the top of my lungs. I grabbed him by the scruff of his tunic and slammed his face against the bars.

Then I let go of him.

He laughed. "Too chicken? Afraid you'll get in trouble for hurting a 'guest'?"

I grinned. "None of the above." And then I turned the key in the lock.

"Don't be a sissy. I know you wanna take a throw at you and lemme tell ya, the feeling's mutual. Course, you're gonna get your ass kicked, but, I'll get some good exercise from it." I slipped into a fighting stance and extended my fingers, letting him think to walk _towards_ me to block the blast…

And then I punched him as hard as I could.

"Uh," He grunted as the force of my blow threw him against the back wall. A trail of blood ran down from his nose. I cracked my knuckles and watched in satisfaction as his angry eyes flashed. "You think you're good enough to beat me?"

"I'll think that until you've got a Triforce on your hand, which you don't," I huffed, ready to block, kick, or duck.

He swung his legs, knocking me off my feet. He put his hand over my mouth and slapped me. I bit down on his hand, he jumped back, and I rolled onto my feet. Adrenaline and terror filled me as I prepared to fight again.

This time, Dark rolled behind me, pinning my arms on my back. I struggled against his grasp. I opened my mouth to yell. He let go of my arms with one hand and I swung to hit him, but he shoved me against the ground. He covered my mouth with his free hand. I thrashed against him, finally, _finally_ swinging my head back, slamming my own skull into his.

I grunted, and as he fell back, I rolled again, trying to push myself up. I couldn't get up. My head felt like it was in Hell, burning and ringing. I lay on the floor, groaning, casting a weak beam of magic at him. It thrust him into the iron bars of the cage, slamming his head against them.

_Don't let him kill me. I don't want to die. I don't want to…_my thoughts were twisted with prayers and thoughts of death—things left unsaid, undone…panic filled me. It was my darkest hour in that second.

I felt him left me up and slam _my_ body into the cage. I whimpered. "I could leave without a slip again. I could take you with me. Maybe we would never be seen again. Maybe you would never come back."

"No," I pleaded. "No. Stop. Enough…I'll have you hung for what you've done…" My thoughts were tainted with defeat and weak threats.

He grabbed me by the hair and pressed his lips to my ear. "You know the future."

I did. I had seen the pictures. A part of my was on my knees, worshipping the little piece of defiance inside me. _It isn't true, it isn't, he made the book up…he made it all up! DON'T! DON'T! DON'T surrender!_

The other part was in that cell, being held by my own hair, wounded and bleeding at the hands of a malicious, manipulative man. A dark vision filled my mind—it was _that_ vision, the one with Link and Zelda's bodies floating in the river of blood at Dark and I's feet, Dark holding me by the hair, dangling me like a necklace. My eyes were downcast while Dark's were bloodthirsty and raining with power. In my arms, I carried a heart that was pouring blood.

"We had a deal," I whispered, voice broken. Anguish filled me.

"We did," He agreed.

"Why do you want this from me?! _Why?!_ You could just get what you want and leave. Please do that. Please."

"It's fun to watch you beg, and almost convincing enough to just wait for my Triforce and then leave…" He smiled, pressing his lips to my ear again. I writhed. "But, Midna, you are blind in the ways of evil. We do not just dominate the world…as fun as that is…we dominate its inhabitants. There is always a prize. There is always another thing."

"And so I'm a game prize?" I breathed, seething hatred filling me. "I will never love you. I will go down with those who fight," I spat.

He chuckled, and then whispered menacingly in my ear. "I will break you, snap every limb in your body and watch you beg. That vision you had seconds ago? You will carry Link's heart as a trophy, Midna. You'll be the one to hear his screams and feed off of his agony. _I will break you until there is nothing left to be broken._"

The darkness, the bleeding scarlet rim of that black horror washed over me, blinding me. It was like I was falling into this cold, cold place. I was drowning in it. I knew that I couldn't resurface.

/

When I awoke, that cold feeling was still there. Terror was choked in my throat, tears pricking at my eyes. I was still drowning in that black terror.

My head ached numbly. My body was cramped and stiff and possibly bruised. A feeling of confusion clouded my judgment as I opened my eyes. I was still in Dark's cell. I was slumped over in the corner.

I felt my body for traces of blood but found none. I grunted and shoved myself up. "I healed you, you're so very welcome," Dark sang from his bench.

Turning myself towards him, I felt that black terror clawing at my vision again. "Piss off," I whispered. I wanted to go back to Link's and wake up again, starting this day anew.

I slammed the cell door shut as I left.

Even with the supposed future looming, I vowed to make sure that there were only 5 more days of that hell.

Or die trying.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hehehe, my lovely reviewers. Here is Chapter 14 of Blood's Shadow! It's a little TINY bit violent, but it's kind of important, because it explains the title of the story. After this chapter, it won't be nearly as violent.**

"I'm home!" I called out in the organized, cheery voice I had put together on my way _walking_ back to Link's. Once I reached Faron woods, it had grown dark, shadows and blackness lurking.

The smell of home-made food hit me as soon as I stepped inside. Instead of the usual clutter, Link's house was _spotless_. Every piece of wood, even the floors and walls, was polished the shining perfect. Every book was in place, every couch was cleared, every pictograph bright. Even his messy kitchen was clean.

Link looked up from the cooking fire, where he was brewing a stew. He smiled at me and instantly, I felt a little better about my day.

And then those wordsechoed—_the future--_in my head and I knew that I had not resurfaced, and Link's invisible cloak would not keep me safe.

That little defiance in my head whimpered. _It's a lie, it's a lie,_ it sang.

"Shop much?" Link flashed a smile when he noticed my bag.

"Yea," I responded, pulling out the sheathed dagger and handing it to him. "And I, of course, being a kind person and all, brought gifts." He gasped at the sheath and then pulled it out.

The glowing streak of Shadow Magic was still visible in the blade's sterling silver knife. "Wow," He gaped at the sword, and then I pulled out Ilia's gift and then the other kids'.

"Dinner's not gonna be ready for a while, actually…I burnt the first batch," He was sheepish in admitting that fact. I laughed a little, brushing him off.

"It's okay. I'd like to go bathe, if there's a place around here that's safe from Peeping Toms."

"Umm…let's see. The only place I could think of is the Spring. There are some rocks there that hide little sections that are generally warmer water…nobody will go there at this hour," He responded, stirring his soup.

After getting a change of clothes, I walked off to the spring, closed the gate, draped my clothes over it, and grabbed the slippery floral soap bar. I waded into the warm water—it _was_ almost hot!—and then to the end of the spring, climbing behind some rocks into an overly wide crevice. It was deep, two. I sat in it, basking in the luxury of the humid air and the hot water. "Ah," I sighed. I knew I was _pretending_ that this water was taking my worries away, but it didn't. I rubbed the soft soap onto my skin, cleansing myself of the dirt and grime of battle…

But they still didn't go away.

I grabbed at the rocks around me. They were sharp and I pulled my index finger back, muttering a quick "ouch".

I examined the cut. Suddenly, that blood seemed entrancing to me. It was a mixture of colors—each its own shade of red and pink and black, with a little dot of white in it, catching the moon's glare. The drop bulged, about to drop, and I held it over the water.

A sliver of moonlight illuminated the crevice, forming a shadow. My finger, outstretched, was in that shadow, and so was that little drop of blood. I wiggled my toes, trying to make the drop leave the shadow. And then I laughed in realization.

We had been in blood's shadow all along our adventure. We had fought and eaten the meat that we spared. We had slept yards from dead bodies. We had been hours away from more fights, more bloodshed. So why did that idea disgust me so much now?

_Maybe it's because…_

_Because Link falls. And Zelda falls._

_No,_ that defiance screamed. _NO! NO!_

The vision came again, in flashes before my eyes.

_/_

_A scream. A thud. Then there was suddenly blood, pooling quickly at our feet._

_/_

_Link released me from his grasp. I had something behind my back?  
/_

_The gradient of scarlet and crimson in the pool reflected a body. A face. A slim, soft face with golden blonde hair, streaked with unnatural crimson. That figure was Zelda. Link gasped. "Zelda!" He cried. Her body seemed far away, though it was only a few yards. A fog appeared._

_/_

_Link splashed the blood up, splattering us as he embraced me. "He won't get to you. He won't. I won't let him."_

_"Link…"_

_/_

_"Midna, I love—"_

_"I'm not sorry."_

_A broken scream erupted from my lips._

_/_

_The streak of shadow magic was tainted with that gradient…so enchanting…its shadow cast right onto Link's heart._

_"Sssh," I whispered as he whimpered. "Love you."_

_/_

_"Dark would have been cruel to you," I whispered to the heart. "I won't let him hurt you, even in death."_

_/_

_"You got distracted. You were so preoccupied in saving him from a cruel death that you didn't bother running. You could have run, Midna. You could have made it." Dark yanked me up by the hair. I cradled Link's heart to my own, anguished._

_/_

"NO!" I gasped. My feet thrashed against the water, destroying the shadow.

I looked at my finger. The blood was gone.

**A shorter chapter this time, but just as dark.**

**The next chapter won't be as dark, I'm a little tired out of the darkness right now. There will be more. I just needed to get the point of "darkness" across. I didn't want it to seem, "Oh, yes, the darkness is coming, the darkness is coming!" ish, I wanted it to seem terrifying and real. Too much? Too little? I love hearing your guys' opinions!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Enjoy, Chapter 15 of Blood's Shadow.**

**I'm listening to Just Like Me by Paramore right now...seems very fitting for some reason.**

Defiance.

I shot up in bed, gasping for air, sweat fresh on my brow no doubt from my mental battle, terror seizing my limbs. Then it just _melted_ into this wonderful feeling of realization: I could put all my remaining spirit into _defying _Dark, avoiding the future.

A cruel sneer echoed in my head and suddenly I was back in that cell, being held by my hair, pleading for mercy. _What defiance is that? There is nothing, there is nothing._ It slapped me, kicked me, shot me, and just _shattered_ me...there was nothing left to defy with. I had lost myself in that showdown at the Castle.

I looked through the railing of the loft, seeing Link's peaceful form. _Why would I kill him? Why would I end him?_ I asked myself.

_To save him?_

Somehow I couldn't form anymore words. It was like just deciding to pull out one last of hair...worthless. I suppose you could look at it as lazy; just dragging my broken body in front of him to take another blow, take another beating, to plead some more, to fall again. That choking, freezing water was all around me again and I looked up to the misty surface. Defiance...no, it was not defiance, it was this _love_. Love to live or love for Link....I could no longer separate the two.

So I would fall. I would take the blows for him.

//

Link was gone when I awoke. A whisper of an echo was present in the air outside--the cries of men as they herded, I assumed--and so I didn't bother looking for him. It was like I had accepted it. Like I had just lain in the bed, letting the covers swallow me up. It would upset him, I knew, if I was depressed before we died. But how can one be happy when death was so close, so tempting, so crystal clear and obvious?

My path in the future was no longer hazy, but solid and cold. I would drag myself from the shadows and take those blows; fall for Link again. I had leaned too far, pushed too hard, fallen too long...now I was plunging into destiny.

I shook off my depression as I realized those facts. I would not be a sissy in going out. I planned it out to be quite "noble" in a cheezy way--I could imagine the terror at my limbs as I screamed Link's name while some monster was firing at arrow at his heart, and then I would jump in front of him at the last second...a la trashy.

I was going to be pissed if I was fickle in my future. Honestly, for Din's sake, I was planning my _perfect_ death and I couldn't even trust myself enough to decide on one plan?

There was only one thing I could do. Time to visit the Fortune Teller.

//

With a feeling of...dignity, I suppose....I warped to Castle Town. I was wearing my "scrap" outfit--at that point, if people stared, I couldn't care less--and I was sauntering through the streets of Castle Town until I reached a building with thick curtains and a dark interior. I walked up the steps and lurched open the door.

A fat lady wearing _way_ too much jewelry sat inside. She had a red marking on her forehead and there was a Crystal Ball in front of her. "My dear," She croaked. "Do you want yer fortune?"

I tossed a red Rupee down on the table, annoyed. "Let's cut to the chase. I want my future and I don't want it sugar coated. And you don't call me dear."

She grabbed the Rupee like she was starving for one and muttered some gibberish spell. I sat down, making myself comfortable...

And then the vision sucked me in.

It was dark. The sky was black. There was blood--of course! it wouldn't be MY future unless there was blood!--in a shallow pool around my feet. I felt like arrows were sticking into my sides and like I was bleeding or leaving _something_ of a trail behind me as I crawled forward. Then there was that cold terror, choking me, drowning me again, as I realized I was too late to fall for Link. Denial and panic lurched my stomach in twelve different directions as I crawled towards an expanding, large pool of blood, thicker than the rest. Forms of bodies passed me, or, rather, I passed _them._

Please don't let that be Link's blood...oh, please. I was knee deep in the warm liquid, swimming with the rotting corpses. I saw his face and screamed in horror. Dark jerked his sword out of Link's face sickeningly. Blood sprayed me. "The future, Midna." He cackled at his own cruel joke. "You've changed it again...do you think this version is better?"

I collapsed into the pool of blood like it was just grass or water. I groaned, defeated again, broken and shattered again. "Don't you _ever_ get bored of playing bad guy? Get a hobby, Dark. I hear chess is nice."

"Aww, I _do_ have a hobby. Don't you know that I enjoy torturing you?"

"What do you want? I've given you everything--oh, let me guess. You want my outfit. I know, it's totally hooah, but it's not going to fit you. Sorry." I dragged myself up so my face wasn't touching the blood.

"You know, if I'm not in the Light Realm, then I can't kill Link."

"Great. I'll give you directions to the Mirror. Oh, but, wait--you're not leaving without that Triforce shard of your's...sorry, I forgot my map at Link's house, I can't tell you where it is." I was bitter and sarcastic; not that I really cared enough to put effort into my remarks.

He grinned and waved the back of his left hand in front of me.

"Of course," I grunted, collapsing into the blood again. His laughter sounded in the timeless field.

The Triforce of power glowed bright gold on Dark's hand.

"So I _still_ don't see how _I_ fit into this plan."

"Well, Midna, there's the fun part. You have the Fused Shadows. Now, surely you remember my favorite book?"

"The TriShadow, wasn't it?"

"I'm flattered you remembered."

"Okay, sure, let me give them to you. Have fun in the Twilight Realm, but careful, my people are going to kill you the second you step through the portal," I winked at him, furious.

"When you're standing next to me, they won't," He smirked.

I fell into the blood, splashing myself in the dark liquid and burst into laughter.

He frowned and yanked me up by the hair. "Now, Midna, play nice," Dark whispered. I laughed again.

"I am _not_ going to the Twilight Realm with you unless Link is with us."

"Then Link can die at my hand. Or your's. Your future is being fickle."

I thought about it for a minute. If we just stepped into the portal, I could wait till Dark was asleep in the Palace and then have my guards kill him...not a bad idea. With my people's power and skill, he'd be easily killed.

I hung my head a little, sighing. "I hate you."

"Sooo.....what will it be? Link's death? Zelda's death? Both? Neither? Face it, Midna, you'll be miserable in all ways."

"I hate you," I repeated.

He laughed and then pressed his lips to my ear. "But you love Link, which is why your future has changed. Changed according to my plans."

**Oy, vey. Don't worry. I promise that in the third installment of this series I'll kill Dark off.**

**Feedback is loved!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 of Blood's Shadow. It's a little strange/off in my opinion, but…**

**Oooh! I forgot. Two songs that REALLY set the mood for this chapter are Whispers in the Dark by Skillet and Frontline by Pillar. –sigh, yes, Alex, thank you for introducing me to them-**

**YOU! Yes, you! Yes, I know, you've heard this a dozen and a half times—YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO "WHISPERS IN THE DARK"! I mean, it **_**perfectly**_** fits this fanfiction!**

_"When darkness comes, you know I won't be far, hear my whispers in the dark."_-Skillet

_"My love is just waiting to clothe you in crimson roses."_-Skillet

I was _running_. I wasn't warping—I needed to stall—but I was sprinting because I knew there was a countdown. My head was ringing, following the clues and every word, every whisper, every _breathe_ that had been given within hearing range of me since Dark came. I felt like I was trapped in between two rapidly connecting walls. _Tick, tock, tick, tock…_

Air burned in my lungs as I stretched my limbs to their farthest proportions. Hyrule Field was a blur on my line of vision, its lush stones and rolling green hills and shadowed trees…it was nothing. I had no time to think about the landscape. I needed an excuse, a life line, a lie to cross my fingers for. Anguish and terror filled me.

_I need to fix this,_ I thought. Of course I d—_wait._ I lurched to a stop. The momentum of my run flashed away and my legs collapsed, numb. "I need to fix this," I whispered that little sentence over and over until I was _sure_ there was something I was saying wrong. That was a lie I could tell. I needed to fix my realm; my mess.

I stood and snapped my fingers, dissolving, warping….

/

"So what's on the agenda, Princess?" Link asked me.

The stage was gracefully, _perfectly_ set for me to speak. Candles on the small table in the clutter of Link's house struck beams of light on my face, playing my eyes in and out of focus. A feeling of sorrow tinged me as I started my performance.

"Well, I'll head out in two days—"

"Where are we going?"

"_I_ am going to my realm," I responded briskly, taking a bite of the meat that Link had prepared and chewed quickly, eagerly. Something in the back of my mind flickered—anguish; I knew the feeling well—and I nearly lost it. I tightened my fists, holding myself together. I met Link's eye carefully and I fought to keep my face straight. The way he looked…it was like I slowly killed an animal in front of him. Shock, horror…sadness. "I need to fix it."

"I-I…didn't know there was anything to fix."

"That battle must have concerned my people; and there must have been some damage done to the Palace," I told him matter-of-factly, chewing more meat. Link was frozen, lake-sapphire eyes glassy.

He shook his head, as if realizing something, and then smiled. "Midna, that's wonderful! You're probably right, I know I would have been scared. You should give a nice speech and fix up the Palace; and you'll probably be back in time for Harvest season--"

This would be the hard part. That anguish was _choking_ me. "It's not gonna be simple; Link. Zelda's been giving speeches every since we came back, extensive interviews--it's not like I'm going to give it a half ass job."

"Okay, so you'll miss the harvest season---no biggy, it wouldn't be fair to leave your people hanging like that. I'll visit all the time--"

"Are you stupid?!" I gasped. "L-link...I don't know when I'll be able to convince them to relieve their hatred against Light Dwellers; it's _not_ safe for you to step through that portal."

His face fell a little. My poker face slipped for a mere second, and in the second Link was staring into my eyes. I felt completely naked. I'm sure that he saw my anguish, my anger and rage, my sadness, the drowned, broken pile of what was left of a princess; what was left of _me._ He set his jaw. "Take your time. I'll wait for you," He promised, smirking and tousling my hair that I had rather hastily throw back on my shoulders that morning. "So when will you leave?"

"Tomorrow," I told him. That little anguish was flattening me against a wall of darkness, just smearing my voice with it.

"Ah. It's probably best if you leave right away, huh?"

"Yes, it is," I muttered. "I'm going for a walk."

"Alright. See you later."

I opened the door and walked through it, and then turned back. "Link?" His gaze lifted to mine. I smiled slightly. "Don't wait for me."

And then I was gone into the night.

**That was really fun write, actually. Sadly, I think I'm only going to be able to draw this out to two more chapters. I want to get it finished soon; tomorrow I have to go on a week long hiking trip; I'd like to use that as a little "retreat" for my mind to make my creativity bloom, and not just for this story. Read, review, put me on alert, **_**just tell me what you think**_**. :p**

**~~Lish**


	17. Chapter 17

**Here I go. This chapter is a little off; and a little short. I'm not sure why the idea came to me, but I'm letting this fanfiction write itself for the time being.**

It was raining.

It was cold.

It was too high to survive a fall.

It was Zelda's window ledge.

My body was hunched up into a tight ball, overlooking the graystone of the castle, smeared with fog. The sky was bright with lightening and thunder, rain just _slamming_ itself into my still form. The rain didn't bother me. It was comfort to me. It was like I was on fire--the anguish that was choking me was like a wild-fire. It was merciless. My head was ringing and I sobbed a little.

A figure appeared on the other side of the glass. A woman. Her skin was this pretty shade of ivory, spotless, like a doll's, golden hair toppling over shoulders. Her face was slim and soft, and she was tall and lean, wearing a red robe. Her eyes were green--so pretty, like moss--and they went wide. "Midna," The soft, worn voice gasped. I knew this woman all too well; my sister, my other half...Zelda.

She opened the window with a harsh yank. I don't know how she _could,_ the window was at least two stories tall. She pulled me inside her wide spaced, luxury room and sat me down by the fire. "In Din's name, what happened?"

"Link," I gurgled, sobbing again.

"Is he--"

"I wouldn't let him die," I sobbed.

"Of course not, it was just a passing thought," Zelda assured me, sitting next to me, comforting me the way a mother confronts a small child who skinned her knee. "What's wrong?"

"Tell him I didn't want to," I whispered. It was like I wasn't controlling my words. I was too consumed in that burning sadness to form anything that was up to conversational standards.

"Didn't want to what?"

"Leave. I didn't want to leave. I don't want to go. I don't," I was _trying_ to get my point across.

"Are you going somewhere?"

I nodded.

"It's about Dark, isn't it? Midna, if he is a threat, tell us, and we will take care of him."

"He knows. He always knows. He has the Triforce."

She stumbled back like a snake had bitten her. "_What?!_"

Zelda strode towards the door. "I have to get the guards and any other military personnel. We _have_ to kill him."

"No!" I screamed. She turned back, running back to me. "He knows. He always knows--when the future changes. If it doesn't affect his plans, he won't see it. He's gotten out before, Zelda. If you change his future by deciding to kill him, he'll just make the future come true faster. If you aren't listening to me and are still planning to go kill him, he's seen it and is leaving _right now_ to go kill Link. And then he'll come for you."

"Midna, I consider you to be a sister of sorts. I cannot let you suffer like this. What can I do?"

"Just tell Link I didn't want to go, please. And not to wait for me."

She nodded. "I will. But, Midna, we can protect you and Link. You know I have the power to hold up a barrier _unbreakable_ by mankind. We can kill Dark, we can save Link and--"

"No, Zel."

"He's broken you. I can see it in your eyes, Midna. That man that is in my dungeon _broke_ you when you came here the other day, didn't he?" She pushed my hair back, finding a scar line by my ear. Probably from one of the slams. When she touched it, I gasped. "Oh, sweet Din, Midna. That's not the only one."

"I put up a fight," I laughed bitterly. "His nose might be a little crooked."

Zelda hugged me. "We will always be waiting for you. Consider this your home. You can always come back, even if you don't want Link to know where you are, you can be here."

"Thanks, Zel. Thank you for everything--for saving me when Link and I were still on our quest, before we met Dark, for being my friend and my sister."

"Goodbye, Midna. Dinsend."

"Bye, Zel. Right back at you."

I stepped out the window and ran on the roof's narrow line. "Midna," She called after me. I didn't turn. I didn't want to see her by the window, sad and helpless. "I suppose I can expect that Dark will not be in my dungeon tomorrow?"

I laughed. "Bye, sis."

And, once again, I disappeared into the night.

**I'm not even kidding. There is ONE MORE CHAPTER of Blood's Shadow. **

**Oh, but before you read that (If I've already posted it by the time you're reading this), go listen to Whispers in The Dark! GO GO GO (please).**

**Tell me what you think...=)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Alas, sweet readers, Blood's Shadow has come to its end. So step off the ride, don't forget any personal belongings, and perhaps put me on Author Alert so you know when this story's sequel comes out. If you're going to look out for it, it's going to be called Love's Shadow. **

**I cannot thank you all enough for the wonderful support. Not once have I received a flame or "WTF" review, except for complaints about my cliff-hangers...well, you get the picture. YOU GUYS ROCK! -hug hug hug-**

**So, go on. Go read the last chapter.**

"I hate you," I told him, opening the cell door. He grinned.

"Of course you do, but _I_ think I'm quite charming."

"Let me guess: in your head, it's one's got the brawn, the other's got the brain."

It wasn't dawn yet, but a gray sky with glowing streaks of color in it. It was a hard time to say goodbye to Hyrule, the town in its waking glory. I knew that after I left, merchants would still come out. That girl who sold me those nice soaps would still come here and sell them. The cafe owners would still serve food. Malo Mart would still be tacky. _Life would go on._ It was a pleasant thought to know that Link had this town to escape to. I'm sure Ilia and the kids would be back to Ordon--that would keep him busy for a while. It was summer, just barely now. It was humid and dewy--I could feel it. Link would have liked me to go swimming with him and the kids. Maybe Ilia could take my place. Maybe even Zelda. I didn't care. I just wanted to save my spot for someone that wouldn't hurt him like this.

I hadn't said a formal goodbye to Link. I had woken up before he did, ate a quiet breakfast of dried meats and fruits, and then wrote him a little note. _Gotta go now. Talk to Zelda, please. I've got to go...goodbye._

And then I had left.

"To the Mirror Chamber?" Dark asked, as if that wasn't perfectly obvious. It wasn't like I could go anywhere else without earning twelve different stairs. I was wearing _my_ only outfit, the "scrap" one that seemed to be all the rage in my realm and so _not_ the rage in this one. Prudes.

I didn't feel anything when I was warping the the mirror chamber. My anguish had left me long ago, I had left it in Zelda's room. My sadness had left me when I left Link's house hours ago. And my rage had numbed me over.

We touched down onto the sandstone texture that the Mirror Chamber was made of. There it was--the Mirror of Twilight. Golden sunlight fell in rays like eyelashes onto the chamber. Some areas were in shadow, some in light. Like my life. Memories surfaced to my eyes--lying on the rooftop next to Link, fighting along his side, injecting the shadow Magic, being thrown into the light by Zant, being carried on Link's back to safety, embracing Link when I was in my true form and when it was all over, fighting Dark, talking to Zelda last night, leaving that note...those memories were dark and light.

"Hey, Midna," Someone weakly spoke from the shadows. I gasped and turned on my heel. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you."

"L-link!" I choked. Oh, Din.

"Just came to say goodbye, and thank you," Link explained. He walked towards me, bringing me into an embrace. I smiled, tears pooling and trickling down my face.

"Hey, I never said I was going forever. You're talking like I am," I laughed, voice breaking.

"At least a year, I'm betting," Dark drawled. He was in the shadow of the mirror, looking quite bored. "You take too long with petty things."

I rolled my eyes and hugged Link again, mentally cursing. I hadn't mentioned that _Dark_ was going to be coming with me! Din! Now I looked like some back-stabbing bimbo.

"Well, I guess I've gotta go. If you give up my space in the loft, I will kill you," I joked. My mind was _screaming_ at me, the anguish returning. _DON'T GO! DON'T GO! DON'T! _I was broken, just a pile of bones and skin and hair, nothing more anymore. I was wailing and thrashing and _drowning_ but none of that would save me. "Goodbye," I kissed Link on the cheek. "See you soon. I have a bet to win. Count the days. I'll be back in less than a year."

Link stood at the base of the mirror as I pressed my hand to the warm glass. It glowed to life, and so did that transparent staircase leading into the golden portal. I walked up it with Dark, waiting for the transport process to start drawing me in.

"Bye," Link called. I smiled, just too broken to do anything else.

"Polish that mir--" I cut myself off with a sharp gasp. I was dissolving into the warp, slowly but surely, and Dark was readying a beam of Twili Magic. I was frozen, too...

He shot the beam at the Mirror. I wailed, but the _shrieking_ noise it made was too loud for my own to be heard. Two pieces of the mirror shot out, somewhere in Hyrule--I wouldn't know--and two shot through the warp.

"NO!" I screamed, a sob breaking loose of my lips. I leaned from the pull of the mirror, extending my hand towards Link's. I had to fight now. I had to. I had drawn my body out of the warp. Dark cursed behind me, grabbing my other arm. This humiliating, crushing sadness and desperation took over me as Dark yanked me towards the portal. My empty hand flailed, begging Link to help me.

Link grabbed my hand, opening his mouth to speak. The mirror's pull was trying to drag me in. "No!" I cried out again. "Link, link! LINK!"

Dark pulled once too hard. Link's hand slipped from my grasp and the portal took me under.

**Well, that's it for Blood's Shadow...in about a week, look for the first part of Love's Shadow. I have a few people to thank...**

**1. My reviewers. OHMYDIN! You guys are a life line! Thank you all so, so, SO much.**

**2. Alex for introducing me to the song "Whispers In The Dark", THE official song of Blood's Shadow. (And Skillet for making that song...)**

**3. Umm, Nintendo?**

**Tell me what you thought of the story--any ideas for the sequel, or vent for leaving it off with a mega-cliffy. I suppose I'm done now...let the curtain close, put me on Author Alert and perhaps leave a little review.**

**Thanks again, hope you've enjoyed and I hope you look out for the sequel...**

**~~Lish**


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